Puerto Rico Experiencing Mental Health Crisis Following Hurricane Maria, Public Health Officials Warn
New York Times: After Hurricane, Signs of a Mental Health Crisis Haunt Puerto Rico
“…The violent winds and screeching rains of Hurricane Maria were a 72-hour assault on the Puerto Rican psyche. There are warning signs of a full-fledged mental health crisis on the island, public health officials say, with much of the population showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Puerto Rico was already struggling with an increase in mental illness amid a 10-year recession that brought soaring unemployment, poverty and family separation caused by migration. Public health officials and caregivers say that Maria has exacerbated the problem…” (Dickerson, 11/13).
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