Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 284 RAPPORT | Short Take A Decade of Combating Disparities in Mental Health Care ifteen years ago (2001), a report of the Surgeon General from the Department of Health and Human Services indicated the existence of wide disparities based on ethnicity and race in the provision of mental health care in the US. But, the professional mental health community was not surprised. They already knew the shortage of “competent” caregivers equipped with both sensi- tivities, language skills and credentials was dire. As a result, a specialized program was created to train students to provide services to individuals of Latino backgrounds. In September 2006, the College accepted its first group of students, and the number of applicants and graduates has grown each year. The Latino Mental Health Program (LMHP) was named for Dr. Cynthia Lucero, a 91�㽶��Ƶ�������� alumna from Ecuador who died in 2002 at the age of 28 after collapsing during the Boston Marathon. Lucero was a community-oriented young woman with a strong passion and commitment to serving underserved populations, especially of Latino background. She felt more people should be able to provide culturally sensitive and Span- ish-speaking care to Latino people. The program that bears her name and celebrates its 10th anniver- sary this year, trains students to provide culturally sensitive services and meet the mental health needs of Latinos in the US. It teaches culturally appropriate interventions in working with Latinos, and it assists in strengthening Spanish-language skills with the Ecuador immersion program, where Lucero’s parents continue to welcome William James students. “We’re the oldest program of its kind in the country,” says Director, Mari Carmen Bennasar, PsyD. “Its mission and vision are linked to Cynthia’s name and her values and with the mission of the College to serve underserved communities.” Having already graduated around 60 students, the program offers degrees at two levels, both Masters and Doctorate, in Counseling, School Psychology and Clinical Psychology. Surprisingly, 40 percent of the students are non-Latino. “I respect and appreciate the students who learn fluency in a second language and want to gain the skills to work with the Latino populations,” says Bennasar. “Our students gain a flexibility, an openness, a powerful but invisible skill Sra. Martha Lucero, the late Cynthia Lucero’s mother, receives a special award recognizing the support she and husband, Hector, have given the LMHP program for the past 10 years. F