One woman who moved to Chicago from China, who did not want to be identified, told NBC Chicago that she is fighting a secret battle.
“There was a period when she felt really confused and didn’t know where she was going,” she said through a translator.
The 29-year-old revealed that she was struggling with her mental health and feared the worst given the prejudice in her culture.
“She wouldn’t even talk about it with her family, she felt embarrassed to talk about it. [mental health]” she said through an interpreter.
But she found the courage to seek help. She’s now one of 60 clients receiving mental health services like counseling and therapy at the Chinese American Service League in Chinatown, and she said she wouldn’t be here today without the support.
“She felt like there was a lot of fog before, but now she has a lot more clarity about the direction of her life,” she said.
CASL expanded its mental health services last year to serve more people, but said there is now a waiting list and more Cantonese-speaking social workers are needed.
“More and more people are reaching out and it makes me feel like my work is worthwhile,” she said.
Jingxiao Tan is a licensed social worker who runs one of the programs.
“We’ve seen a lot of people coming in to talk about family dynamics, family conflict,” Tan said. “We’ve also had young people talking about the stress of school, about coming of age. We’re talking about identity issues, gender identity issues.”
Through their advocacy work, she and her colleagues strive to eliminate the stigma around mental health and let people know that asking for help is not a sign of weakness.
“I think especially the younger generation is more willing to talk about it. [mental health]” said Mr Tan.
CASL said it has helped more than 200 people in Chinatown since it began providing behavioral and clinical services in 2021. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the leading cause of death among Asian people ages 15 to 24.
One woman who was once afraid to speak out now hopes telling her story could save a life.
“Her message is that mental health is really important and she feels that talking to people can actually be healing.”
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text 988.
