NEW YORK — The recent suicide of a Colombian migrant at a Queens homeless shelter touched a nerve for Maria — a migrant herself who struggled with emotional trauma. Maria had been in the U.S. for months, awaiting the results of her interview for political asylum status, when her thoughts turned dark.
Anxious thoughts — of what she left behind in Venezuela, of the prospect of being sent back home to languish in jail for her environmental activism — played through her head over and over again. Maria didn’t sleep for three days before landing in the emergency room.
“I had to leave my family, my business, my home, my stability, my life. I had to face the challenge of being an immigrant in a new country, with a new language, and without a job,” said Maria, 37, who spoke on the condition that only her first name be shared out of fear of punishment from the Venezuelan government.
“ … People used to say, the American dream. But look at how it becomes a nightmare.”
As hundreds of migrants pour into New York City each day, a new issue is coming starkly into focus. Many fled danger and devastation in their home countries for a shot at a better future. They dealt with crime and hunger along the way. Thrown into a city unprepared to welcome them, and often without connections, jobs, housing, insurance or shared language, the migrants are vulnerable to suffering from mental illness.
But help is hard to come by as the mental health resources available are profoundly inadequate, advocates and experts say. The pathways to treatment are unclear for anyone — let alone someone dealing with the fallout of a traumatic journey and harsh realities in New York — said George Ramos, an immigration evaluation therapist for migrants seeking various immigration statuses.
With an already understaffed mental health infrastructure, counseling appointment wait times are often more than three months long — and can be longer without insurance, Ramos said.
“When there aren’t good services, it usually leads to more acute reactions,” like suicide, he said.
The problem reached a breaking point last week. A Colombian migrant, Leidy Paola Martinez Villalobos, died by suicide, according to Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the city Medical Examiner’s office. Martinez Villalobos used a cord to hang herself in the bathroom at a shelter in Hollis, Queens on Sept. 18. Friends of the 32-year-old mother told The News she had been in New York for four months and struggled with depression after being separated from her husband at the border.
She cried daily, and the weekly check-ins by shelter social workers were no help.
Political pawns
Advocates and experts say the more than 10,000 migrants who have arrived in the city and been cycled into the shelter system are also at risk. If migrants are already feeling despair, fear and desperation, layering on poverty, uncertainty and poor living conditions can heighten their challenges — and turn their hopelessness lethal.
“You can hear it in their voices,” said Sergio Tupac Uzurin, a volunteer with mutual aid group NYC ICE Watch. “ … Just imagine having so many needs all at once. And there’s a sense that they’re not being listened to. They’re very capable people that made this arduous journey, and are here and want to make a living. And they’re just being shuffled around like cattle by both parties, Republicans and Democrats.”
When they arrive in New York, migrants can obtain services from nonprofits and community-based organizations — but these can be hard to access. They are able to apply for public assistance and medical insurance, as well as work permits, but those processes have been stalled due to staffing shortages and an overwhelming number of applicants.
The city also opened a resource center last week, which hosts teams of Health Department mental health professionals who conduct assessments, provide emotional support and counseling and make referrals to an on-site case management team.
“I encourage all asylum seekers who need mental health support to utilize these services, and anyone in our city struggling with anxiety, depression, or mental health challenges of any kind to call 888-NYC-WELL,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
But on two separate occasions, the voice messaging system on that line said that all Spanish-speaking professionals were busy. The calls were redirected from Spanish to English language services.
More mental health support as migrants arrive would help, said Dana Alonzo, professor at the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University and founder of the Suicide Prevention Research Program. “We know that this is a particularly vulnerable time, but we don’t do anything to connect individuals to the support they need during this period so that they don’t become at risk,” Alonzo said.
Housing is a key part of mental health, said Uzurin, and conditions at family shelters don’t help.
“There’s no more surefire way for mental health issues to become lethal than if people don’t have stable housing,” Uzurin said. “We’re hearing, including from employees, that women in the family shelters aren’t even being allowed to speak to each other. They’re being isolated, as if these are jails.
“We originally had these reports that the women and family shelters were better than the single men shelters. What we’re hearing is that some of these women’s shelters are isolated like that. They isolate the residents which can only exacerbate any mental health issues and just general despair.”
After her breakdown, Maria, who worked as a psychologist in Venezuela, knew she needed more help. She worked through her mental health struggles, has since been granted asylum status and works as an Uber Eats driver. Now, she uses her own experience, as well as her training, to help others. She volunteers at an asylum support group, helping others navigate the difficulties of life in the U.S.
“It’s about putting yourself in a place to think, ‘Oh my god, this is hard,’” she said. “And you are not alone. That’s why it’s important to look for help.”
