Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ Community

Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ Community 

Negative Mental Health plays a prominent role in the LGBTQ+ community, making life harder for community members of all ages. Unfortunately, there are not enough resources available to even begin to remedy this.

       Research

  Statistics in the LGBTQ+ Community

                                  

                                                     

According to surveys taken in 2022 by organizations like The Trevor Project, there are an estimated 34,000 LGBTQ+ youth within the U.S. 45% being POC and 48% being Transgender or Nonbinary.

Due to lack of resources, support, and community, it has become increasingly common for queer youth to fall into deep depression. Their mental state deteriorates to such a magnitude and the feeling of isolation persists to such a degree that they feel that suicide is the only solution they have available to them. The percentage of youth who feel accepted or, at the very least, safe is minimal. At the very least, they should be heard by their school administrators/counsellors, but not even they are a reliable resource.

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"These services are funded through the state’s special education mental health services program, which provided schools $381 million in 2020‑21."      (Legislative Analyst's Office)

The total overall funding (federal, state, and local) for all TK–12 education programs is $128.6 billion, with a per-pupil spending rate of $22,893 in 2022–23. (California Department of Education)

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Mental health facilities within the education system are severely under-staffed, under-funded, and/or completely unavailable altogether. Administrators and district members alike promote their support of queer students but do nothing to actually support them.

 Personal

Before I'd officially settled into my queer identity, I'd barely acknowledged or heard much about the LGBTQ+ community, but I was well-acquainted with my deteriorating mental state. Little did I know that this was the case for many of the people around me, for many of my friends. 
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This acquaintanceship continued on through high school, though it'd settled beside my new, queer sense of self rather than make it's home within it and eat away at me from the inside out. 

This was not the case for many of my peers.

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My school experience consisted of horror stories tied to my faceless students I'd never known and near-death experiences tied to my close friends, with it all came a numbness- one that infected everyone and only amplified as we were rushed indoors in 2020.

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I feel that there needs to be more concern surrounding the state the LGBTQ+ youth are in- that there needs to be more of an effort from school districts, parents, and anyone capable of making a difference to keep these kids safe. Of course, it's not only the children. Members of the LGBTQ+ community consist of various ages, all with different symptoms and needs. One thing they all have in common, though, is that they are surrounded by death.

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Older generations have lived through a lifetime of discrimination and indifference towards their well-being, being cast aside as their friends, family, and lovers were taken by a horrible sickness, only to watch the younger generations take their own lives in the face of this same indifference decades later.

Action

What do you think mental health in the LGBTQ+ community is like? 

Healthy or not?

What kind of services do you think would change this?

Crow

"I think mental health plays a very important part in the LGBTQ+ community. Where queers are repressed and oppressed, knocked down to their knees by societal norms and bigoted traditions- queers have to learn how to love themselves and their community, to bring each other up, and by this process strengthen their connections with each other. I don’t think the mental health within the LGBTQ+ community itself is healthy, especially not if the people surrounding the community are harmful to it. I think more resources for education and access to mental health/healthcare and safe places would help majorly."

Mia Mirajillo

"I think that trying to generalize the LGBTQ+ community as "healthy or unhealthy" is reductive and a gross misunderstanding of mental health. I believe that the LGBTQ+ community is an oppressed group, alienated for their differences; I believe that that alienation can deeply affect an individuals mental health. The community as people are learning ways to cope and love but every person is an individual and no group should be reduced to such a restrictive and nonconstructive question. Therapy can be very useful for bettering mental health and I think normalizing the queer community through kinder and protective laws and inclusive practices, like not censoring queer culture in history, would do wonders to welcome the age of community and diversity."

Citations

-2022 national survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. The Trevor Project. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/#anxiety-by-sexual-orientation

-Budget act for 2022–23: Information. Budget Act for 2022–23: Information - Education Budget (CA Dept of Education). (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fr/eb/ba2022-23.asp#:~:text=The%20total%20overall%20funding%20(federal,of%20%2422%2C893%20in%202022%E2%80%9323 

-School Mental Health. The 2021-22 Budget: School Mental Health. (2021, February 12). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4368#:~:text=(Responsibility%20for%20these%20services%20was,million%20in%202020%E2%80%9121. 

Body Dysmorphia

                             

Body Dysmorphia

                          By: Yulissa Ramirez 

Many think that the word perfection means being perfect in every sense. Such as in the way that now in days social media takes a huge impact upon what individuals think "perfect" truly means. For example, many believe that fitting into society means that they have to be being skinny, not eating this, not wearing that. This is something that they should follow but no that should not be the case especially since it is them not accepting themselves as how they look. That is which then leads to body dysmorphia by them getting into the idea that they don't look a certain way, or that they feel fat, skinny or whatever the case is. 

What is Body Dysmorphia? 

"Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health condition in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance — a flaw that appears minor or can't be seen by others. But you may feel so embarrassed, ashamed and anxious that you may avoid many social situations" (Mayo Clinic.., MC]) 

"When you have body dysmorphic disorder, you intensely focus on your appearance and body image, repeatedly checking the mirror, grooming or seeking reassurance, sometimes for many hours each day. Your perceived flaw and the repetitive behaviors cause you significant distress and impact your ability to function in your daily life (Mayo Clinic., MC). 

Effects of Body Dysmorphia

This identifies the meaning of what body dysmorphia is. Most of the effects that come along with in this situation are low self-esteem, social isolation, major depression & mood disorders, suicidal thoughts or behavior, anxiety disorder, social anxiety and lastly eating disorders. This explains the way of how having body dysmorphia affects men as well as women's. Some of the things are avoiding to eat cause of the thought of getting fat, fearing of not looking a certain way, feeling not worthy enough, feeling fat or skinny and lastly feeling that everyone else will judge you the certain way that you look. As well as to how in the U.S" body dysmorphia occurs in about 2.5% in males and 2.2% in females" 

•  Helping someone in Need
• 
  
• 1. Listening to them
• 2. Guiding them into guidance 
• 3. Getting theraphy
• 
  

These are some of the ways in which people with body dysmorphia can be helped. Such as in the way of how they can get oriented into getting therapy that way they get to open up about how they are feeling. As well as someone can help them by listening to them and by not judging them into the feelings that they are expressing towards them. This identifies how most of the times individuals believe that opening up and seeking for help is something that they shouldn't since they feel that they will get judged for how they are feeling or whatever the situation. 

Personal Issue

I would say that all my life I never felt the need to feel some type of way about my body. But as time passed by I always felt that social media played a huge role into the way that I was feeling about my appearance I always thought that I was way too skinny, fat, didn't have this or that. That was the moment in which I realized that I was developing a body dysmorphia towards myself. I started to feel that "I wasn't enough" that everyone else was better looking than me. I got to a point in my life in which I thought that the best for me to do was to get a surgery thinking that it was going to help me look better and fit into how everyone else looked like in social media. I would say that body dysmorphia is an actual thing and I am glad that I was able to reflect and come into realization that I was perfect the way I was and that nothing simply nothing was wrong with me.

Hotline Help

    If you or someone you know suffers from body dysmorphia, here are some available hotlines:

 1. CalHOPE: It is a support group developed by California Consortium for Urban Indian Health. They as well have a live chat if you are not comfortable speaking.

Hotline: (833) 317-HOPE (4673)

https://www.calhope.org/pages/current-services.aspx#cs2. 

    2. NewVista: 24-hour hotline available to those who suffer from Body Dysmorphia:

Hotline: 1(800) 928-8000

Newvista.org. https://newvista.org/sites/default/files/one-page-handouts/Mental%20Health/Schizophrenia.pdf.

                       What is a civic engagement ?  

Civic Engagement can be interpreted among distinctly things such as in accordingly to this article it identified how "working to make a difference in the civic life of one's community and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference"(Civic Engagement.,[CE]). This explains the meaning of what civic engagement identifies.

References

Body dysmorphic disorder - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic. (2022, December 13). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/body-dysmorphic-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353938

 

Civic Engagement | Youth.gov. (n.d.). https://youth.gov/youth-topics/civic-engagement-andvolunteering#:~:text=Civic%20engagement%20involves%20%E2%80%9Cworking%20to,motivation%20to%20make%20that%20difference.

 

 24 -Hour Helpline 1.800.928 - Newvista.org.https://newvista.org/sites/default/files/one-page-handouts/Mental%20Health/Schizophrenia.pdf

 

                                                   

Littering and Vandalism on Los Angeles Public Transportation

 Littering and Vandalism on Los Angeles Public Transportation

By Citlalli Navarro

Credit: World of Lina

What is Civic Engagement?

Civic Engagement is defined as an act or action an individual or whole group can take to address issues affecting their local or greater communities. Action can vary from community service, helping to get people to vote, and even participating in organizations for your cause. Urging people to take action is needed in order to tackle issues that might arise. The most important thing civic engagement promotes is maintaining unity, especially if an issue calls for multiple groups of a community to set aside differences to work together.

Overview on Public Transportation and its Benefits

Public Transportation is a valuable resource not just here in Los Angeles but to the greater population no matter where we live. Heavily populated city areas benefit from bus and subway lines that span over large portions of an entire county, allowing people to reliably commute to their destinations. Rural areas can benefit from it too as it opens up more opportunities for land usage so communities can have easier access to each other and in turn more resources. Since public transport strives to be as accessible as it can be in terms of cost and location, it allows for just about anyone to use it regardless of economic or social status. Connecting communities leads to improvements in the overall economy and housing as more jobs are opened up that can be better accessed.

Another benefit it has is helping to lessen the impact pollution can have on the city. The typical size of a bus allows it to house an average of 40-80 passengers and the most subways can carry up to 100-200 passengers depending on how many stands and the subway's build. Apart from the obvious CO2 emissions, most cars and trucks rely on oil and energy consumption, so its impact on pollution already runs deep. An article published by ABC news cites the 2022 annual State of the Air statistics released by the American Lung Association that show the unfortunate state Los Angeles is with air pollution. The statistics were based on the particle pollution levels of the 10 most polluted cities, with Los Angeles having alarming levels of pollution.

Credit: ABC News

Allowing passengers to take public transport can affect pollution rates massively. Not only that, but it also reduces traffic congestion on roads and highways and likely lessens the amount of accidents that happen constantly. Accidents can cripple a road for hours and leave many cars on the road for extended periods of time where they're emitting more waste. An article from the Vaziri Law Group titled "Los Angeles Car Accident Statistics" stated that "The trend when it comes to traffic accidents in Los Angeles has been an upward trend. Statistics show that in the five-year period between 2016 and 2020, nearly 250 people were killed in car accidents each year on average, which is more than a 30% increase from the previous five years".

The Problem and Its Effects

Credit: Google Maps

    Unfortunately, despite countless relying on it, a huge problem public transport is faced with is littering and vandalism. This happens in a lot of places but in Los Angeles the problem has gotten a lot worse lately. On the surface bus bays have their small structures tampered with and litter clutter the spots. Protective glass for installations tend to be broken or smashed entirely, with passengers having to deal with waiting on the stops amidst shards until it's repaired only for it to repeat weeks later. Sometimes benches are rendered useless to sit down in because of discarded items ranging from food, clothing, to literal waste. Then further below, subways suffer from messy and dusty interiors. Although you are far less likely to find broken sections on the trains, the sheer size of them leads to tagging and litter being a common sight. I resonate strongly with this issue because I've relied on public transportation my whole life. I've seen a great variety of stations in just about every condition possible and have seen how a lot of them have gotten worse over the years. It's always been important to me to be able to have safe access to transport for travel whether it be for business or recreational.

Credit: Google Maps

Passengers having to deal with these poor conditions has negative effects on the lines and the areas around each stop. Bus stops in poor condition make the streets around it more of a hassle to walk through but it can also pose health risks if left to fester. The same can be applied to train and subway stations since more people congregate in the spaces because they're built on a larger scale. Having to deal with this can discourage passengers from using public transportation which in turn could lead to less support or funding being given to them.

Proposed Solutions

    A grand scale issue such as this doesn't have a simple solution but nonetheless it should not deter the greater community from taking action. A key starting point would be to rally for support in providing more help to renovate older areas and maintain lines that might stretch further than others. These lines are where many tend to congregate in and would be an ideal place to establish order to help deter problems from bleeding out into other lines. We could also rally for better security on lines. Having reliable systems would allow for passengers to report issues and receive quicker responses for problems that might occur. Passengers should also make more efforts to discourage others from littering or destroying the spaces around the stops and inside the vehicles  themselves. Items like litter bags could encourage passengers to keep spaces around them clean especially as it can be taken to be disposed of properly. There could also be organizations based in communities to clean litter, allowing for a broader reach as they could coordinate between communities to improve the state of stops along lines. 

Interviews

Here are some people I asked who often use forms of public transportation to travel. These did not wish for an image to be taken of them photo release.

Blanca Jaramillo

Question: "How often do use public transportation?"

Answer: "I use the Metro buses when I need to go to the store or doctor appointments for my child."

Question: "Has the condition of the lines affected you or changed how you used them?"

Answer: "I don't feel safe sometimes, the stations have gotten so dirty in certain areas and I can't even sit down to wait for the bus. Even when they get cleaned it doesn't last. The metro has gotten far worse than the buses I noticed after the outbreak."

Sergio Navarro

Question: "How often do use public transportation?"

Answer: "Almost every day of the week to go to work. I take multiple buses and subways early in the morning for two hours."

Question: "Has the condition of the lines affected you or changed how you used them?"

Answer: "They have been in poor condition for many years. Even though my job tires me I do not like to sit down on the metro especially when coming back home. There is trash in many areas and a lot of passengers have seen disruptive people make the long ride harder."

Question: "Has the pandemic made the lines worse?"

Answer: "Yes I got tired of the poor conditions of the metro I've stopped taking them as frequently. My route is mostly buses now."

Abigail Navarro

Question: "How often do use public transportation?"

Answer: "For school mostly."

Question: "Has the condition of the lines affected you or changed how you used them?"

Answer: "Yeah it's annoying having to stand a lot. Some areas are better than other but others are so dirty and some of the other students have complained about it at school."

References Cited

Patel, Jaysha. “LA RANKS NO. 1 IN OZONE POLLUTION, NEW REPORT FINDS.” Https://abc7.Com/, ABC News, 22 Apr. 2022, https://abc7.com/amp/american-lung-association-2022-state-of-the-air-report-greater-los-angeles-ventura/11777511/. 

Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Air Pollution.” Our World in Data, 17 Apr. 2017, https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution.

VLG_AN_LEGAL. “Los Angeles Car Accident Statistics.” Vaziri Law Group Personal Injury Attorneys, Vaziri Law Group Personal Injury Attorneys, 7 Nov. 2022, https://www.vazirilaw.com/car-accident-statistics/.

Fast Fashion

 Environmental Effects of Fast Fashion 

What is Fast Fashion?

            

                Fast Fashion according to BBC, "describes the quick turnover of fashion trends and the move towards cheap, mass produced clothing with new lines being constantly released". In short, its clothing produced at a fast rate in order to keep up with trends that are always changing. 

Why is it Harmful? 

                Due to the nature of fast fashion, it requires textiles to be produced at an incredibly fast rate to keep up with demands of trends. Since clothes are made of different materials such as cotton, polyester, satin, leather. Along with the dyes, patterns and paints needed for designs. The need to supply these materials becomes increased, thus causing more land, water and work needed to produce these items at a large scale. "Producing clothes uses a lot of natural resources and creates greenhouse gas emissions which are responsible for climate change". BBC further states that the fashion industry in itself is "responsible for 8-10% of global emissions". Which is crazy considering we also have factories, oil, gas cars and other societal norms that cause global emissions daily. 

                Even the cotton uses around 2.5% of the world's farmland, which means tons of water is being used in order to make a single t-shirt. 

Because of the high cost to make raw materials, the use of synthetic fabrics are now the norm. This introduces us to polyester, acrylic, nylon and elastane (which is like the material Spandex is made of). EthicalConsumer.org states, "the rise of fast fashion has been heavily dependent on synthetic fibres such as polyester, nylon, acrylic and elastane, which are made from heavily processed petrochemicals (fossil fuels). These materials are cheap to produce – polyester, for example, costs half as much per kilo as cotton – and therefore allow brands to keep prices low, though with a high environmental price-tag". The answer for these fashion companies to make money and keep business going, is to create cheaper fibers, using less raw organic materials to create a piece of clothing that may or may not last a couple months before it is cycled through trash. 

Brands like Shein, Forever21, Fashion Nova, H&M, Uniqlo, Boohoo and even GAP are some of the top brands contributing to the harmful effects fashion puts on the environment. Let alone the working conditions that these factories have for their workers is a whole different issue. 

Why It Matters

            Fashion is an art form that everyone contributes and uses daily. It is something that majority don't even think about because we believe that we aren't models or dress according to certain trends. Trends or not however, everyone contributes to fast fashion because we all wear clothing that are from these brands. We live in a world were making money despite the effects it may have on others and the environment. 

            Our world is rapidly changing in many ways that are more bad and good now. Our global climate change is something that affects everyone living in this Earth and if the one thing of many things that everyone wears everyday, indulges in every once in a while, is affecting the environment and the World. And we are aware of the effects it has, why not try a little bit everyday to try and change that? 

Community Input

            

            Anonymous: For me it's interesting how clothes are because there are different people who buy these things because it is cheap and affordable and people who buy these things because they need to keep up with trends. It's hard for me form an exact opinion on this topic because of this. Though Goodwill and Salvation Army and Thrifting exist and has become more mainstream. The fashion industry will just try to keep up anyway and create clothes that look worn or old. I'm all for saving for the environment, but not everyone has the funds to do so unfortunately. Maybe that's another problem though. 

                Anonymous: Sometimes I wonder how everything would be in an ideal world. It's hard to say that clothes are such a big factor in our environment declining since it's something that society needs. I'm not really a trend guy. But I like nice things and shop at certain places a lot. It sucks we use so much just for clothes. I hope there will be a way to be more environmentally friendly in clothing one day. It feels like everything is falling apart though. 

 References: 

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60382624

 

Homelessness in Los Angeles

 

Homelessness in Los Angeles

By Michelle Lopez

              The city of Los Angeles is known for a lot of things but when you get a chance to tour around the city, one thing becomes very apparent. the city of Los Angeles suffers from a severe homeless problem. In this day in the Los Angeles county area, there are thousands of people that suffer from being homeless. This is a big problem affecting the city and it's different community areas. in the article "Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Releases 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count" it states that "The official 2022 LA  County Homeless Count is 69,144 people. This is a 4.1% increase from the 2020 Count." this shows that every year there seems to be more people that are pushed to live in the streets. In areas like Downtown LA and Hollywood it can be seen that there are many tents set up and these tents keep growing as more people join count.

                                        

            Los Angeles has risen to become the number one state in the U.S to have the most population of homeless people. In the article "Homelessness in Los Angeles: A unique crisis demanding new solutions" it states that "By recent estimates, LA’s population of people experiencing homelessness has surpassed New York City’s to become the largest in the nation—and it is still growing, with about one in 150 Angelenos, or 69,000 people, experiencing homelessness". This shows astonishing numbers but what is creating this issue of hopelessness?

             There are many reasons as to why people are forced into the streets such as having a mental disability or mental illness. there are also problems such as addictions or substance abuse that cause people to turn to live on the streets. The biggest root of this homeless crisis is the low wages and high housing costs. Los Angeles is a city that collects a lot of revenue from tourism and housing many million dollar companies and industries but yet lacks better paying wages for it's citizens. therefore people are unable to afford the ever growing prices of housing in this pricey city. We have places renting one bedroom one bathroom apartments for $1,800 plus, some even leading to $2,500. Many of the people in this city do not make enough to afford the high rents or spend most of their salary on paying their rent. There is also not enough help for the people in poverty to afford housing therefore leading them to live in their cars or on the street. we have seen the prices of housing grow exponentially every year.

    

                

                Other further reason for this homelessness crisis could be old veterans who do not receive the support they need to afford housing. People who cannot find work as well are in higher probability to become homeless. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 left many people unemployed leading them to be unable to pay for their rent and living expenses. Many factors could potentially lead people to live on the streets.

               

                This is an issue that is important to me because as someone who works and lives on minimum wage and has a family that as well works on minimum wage with the current economy we live in and the rising prices of items, food, and rent, it has become hard and a possibility of this crisis affecting us. Rent control is being fought to be placed on all buildings but there are many buildings who still do not participate in rent control. This as well as seeing many people struggle out on the street and have no sort of help to get back to living in a proper home is heartbreaking as it is inhumane to allow people to live on the streets. This is an issue that must be tackled, as our streets only get more full of homeless people. 

The Community

                                    

Angel Granados (21) - " We should stop turning a blind eye to hopeless people, they need proper help in order to put them in the right direction out of living on the streets." 

Jocelyn Lopez (19) - "It is sad that we do not provide enough help to these people who have mental health or addiction problems in order for them to be able to get back on their feet, rather we leave them to fend for themselves and turn a blind eye to their problems."

Josephat Lozano (21) - "There is a real crisis regarding homelessness and we can see it all around us in our communities. There should really be something done to try to help solve this problem and prevent further growth on the homeless population."

 References: 

    Adarkar, Ashwin, et al. “Homelessness in Los Angeles: A Unique Crisis Demanding New Solutions.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 24 Mar. 2023 https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/homelessnes-in-los-angeles-a-unique-crisis-demanding-new-solutions.

 

    “City of West Hollywood.”  News. https://www.weho.org/Home/Components/News/News/10523/23#:~:text=The%20official%202022%20LA%20County,increase%20from%20the%202020%20Count. 

     Cowan, Jill. “Homeless Populations Are Surging in Los Angeles. Here's Why.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 June 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/us/los-angeles-homeless-population.html.