Latino behavioral group kicks off program

Groundbreaking Latino Consumer Network to Kickoff at 1st Annual “Tenemos Voz” Symposium
PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON– Sept. 22: The National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) announced today its plans to establish a national Latino consumer network to improve the delivery of mental health services for Latinos across the country. The consumer-driven network will be the first of its kind for the Latino population and will be launched at the first annual Tenemos Voz (“we have a voice”) Symposium to be held in Los Angeles on September 22.

“We are hopeful that our work to bring Latinos together from across the country to discuss their mental and behavioral health care needs will positively impact how these services are delivered to our community, and believe it will have a major impact on the behavioral health of Latinos throughout the country,” explains Guillermo Brito, executive director of NLBHA. “Given the current U.S. health care reform discussion, we have a unique opportunity to draw attention to the great disparities that exist in areas of access, utilization, practice based research, and adequately trained personnel in the behavioral health arena.”

The invitation-only symposium will convene a steering group of nearly 70 Latino consumer leaders from across the U.S. to establish an operating structure and work plan for the national network. “Latinos in the United States account for more than 45 million people, making the need for a national Latino consumer network quite obvious” said Fred Sandoval, NLBHA Board President. “NLBHA is positioned to play a role in helping to empower consumers so that they can impact the behavioral health care system and make it more responsive to their needs. It will open many doors and opportunities that the Latino community did not even know existed.”

Other factors affecting disparities in the delivery of mental health care and substance abuse treatment services and that the network will address include the insufficient number of Latino mental health care practitioners, low educational and socioeconomic levels, the high percentage of uninsured Latinos, and racial as well as ethnic discrimination.