African Americans are 20 percent more likely to suffer from mental illnesses than the general population, according to federal data.
This, in part, stems from the fact African Americans are more likely to wrestle with conditions that can lead to mental illness, such as exposure to violence and homelessness. Blacks comprise 40 percent of the U.S. homeless population, says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Chronic issues of poverty, mass incarceration and financial hardships have increased mental illness and suicide in the African American community, according to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health in Rockville, Maryland.
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