WASHINGTON — The recent deaths by suicide of Hyattsville mayor Kevin Ward and former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst have shined a light on a troubling trend and one that is hitting Black Americans especially hard,
On Monday, Kryst's family and the New York Police Department announced that the 2019 Miss USA winner died after jumping from a building in Manhattan on Sunday morning.
Her death came days after Ward, who served on Hyattsville City Council before becoming mayor in 2020, died by suicide last Tuesday.
The sudden passing of the two follows two studies showing alarming trends with suicide.
According to one released by the Centers for Disease Control, the suicide rate in the US grew 33% from 1999 to 2019.
Another study, done by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers and published in JAMA Psychiatry last year, found that suicide deaths of Black Marylanders spiked 94% in March to May 2020 compared to the same time periods in 2017 through 2019.
The same study found that suicide rates decreased 45% among white Marylanders during the same timeframe.
On Monday, Wendt Center Executive Director Michelle Palmer spoke to WUSA9 about the concerns and said the pandemic continues to impact emotional well-being around the country.
"The pandemic itself has led to a significant mental health crisis in this country," she said. "It's creating isolation, which is feeding many mental health crises. This pandemic has really complicated, illuminated, and made more painful those valleys.”
Palmer said many mental health clinics, including the Wendt Center, have been overwhelmed with needs for assistance. As a result, she said some people are having to wait long periods of time to receive individual or group therapy.
"It’s actually not uncommon to hear of waiting lists that are six to nine months," Palmer said. "We don’t have enough mental health clinicians that specialize in grief and trauma and I think this pandemic has laid that painfully bare.”
Palmer added that the deaths of Kryst and Palmer showed that suicide can impact anyone, no matter their career or financial status.
"You would imagine that these people must have people around them and they’re not isolated. They’re the mayor and former Miss USA," she said. "Being isolated is not necessarily around being physically isolated. You can be surrounded by people and be all by yourself.”
Moving forward, Palmer said it was important for the community to know of the mental health resources available in their area.
"We have to figure out how to make 'emotional well-being' just part of our vernacular," she said. "Most of us are really struggling with it. A lot of people just need one or two people in their life that they can connect with. Being able to help people feel connected is really really important.”
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741 to reach a Crisis Text Line counselor.