LGBTQ+ people of color, similar to their broader LGBTQ+ community, experience alarmingly high rates of mental health challenges. It disrupts their daily lives and can be life-threatening, especially for children and youth. Over a majority of LGBTQ+ adults of color in the United States are facing significant mental health challenges today. LGBTQ+ high schoolers of color are also more likely to attempt suicide (27%) compared to LGBTQ+ high schoolers (22%) and non-LGBTQ+ high schoolers (5%) in the United States.

[Disclaimer: This resource discusses suicide and other sensitive content. If you or someone you know is in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 and 1-800-273-8255.]

We know that LGBTQ+ people who are BIPOC often face barriers to treatment and care because of mistrust of the medical community, and high uninsurance rates among many other societal injustices. In the United States, more than one-quarter (28%) of LGBTQ+ adults of color have no health insurance coverage, compared to 8% of all adults.

While LGBTQ+ adults of color experience similar rates of mental health challenges as LGBTQ+ adults generally, they receive unequal rates of diagnoses. A rate of 29% of LGBTQ+ adults of color say they have been diagnosed with a depressive order from a provider, compared to 39% of the LGBTQ+ adults broadly, a ten point gap. Moreover, only 35% of LGBTQ+ youth of color receive emotional counseling.

Our mental health is important — and we must find solutions to address these inequities. To learn more about mental health in the entire LGBTQ+ community, see our other resource.