Lali Moheno of Visalia grew up in a family of farm workers.
She says one of her brothers had mental problems.
"We had to give him a hug…I mean something to settle this guy
down. We didn't know there were psychiatrists."
Untreated mental health problems are common for farm workers
and other poor Latinos in California, according to the UC Davis
Center for Reducing Health Disparities.
A new study from the center offers solutions based on
responses from 550 Latinos who took part in community forums.
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola is the center's director. He says one
of those solutions is setting up school-based mental health
programs.
"…identify symptoms early and do something about it to reduce
the chances that those symptoms become full-blown diagnosis like
autism, schizophrenia, depression, substance abuse."
Other tactics include using social media to reduce the stigma
of mental problems and increasing the number of promotores
- people who act as bridges between health care services and the
community.