Rising Black suicide rate demands attention

Black youth are often diagnosed with behavioral problems, rather than other mental health conditions, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (stock.adobe.com)

A record 49,500 people took their own lives last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the bleak statistics serve as a reminder that suicide is a major endemic in our country.

No community is immune. Here in Cook County, the rise in suicides among African American residents is particularly alarming.