User:Breeze04/sandbox

The suicide rate is the 2nd leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and the third leading cause of death for those between 15-19. In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of ChiId and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children's Hospital Association released a joint statement announcing a mental health crisis among our youth. Emergency room visits for mental health issues have dramatically increased, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the last twenty years, the suicide rate for black youth has significantly increased faster than any other racial or ethnic group. The The suicide rate for black children between the ages of 5 and 12 is twice the rate of their white counterparts.

Black youth deal with the challenges of normal adolescence but also face issues created by systemic racism and discrimination. Racial disparities in the health care system and other institutions and the stigma associated with mental illness create barriers for black adolescents to access and obtain treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a statement about the impact of racism on black youth. Both overt racism and implicit bias take a psychological toll on black children. Institutional and systemic racism, overt and implicit, impact black youth's physical and emotional well-being.