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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Feb. 20, 2025:
Study finds critical barriers to mental health care for Greater Richmond’s Latinos
Reported by VPM News’ Keyris Manzanares
A recent study — the first of its kind to provide an in-depth analysis of Richmond’s Spanish-speaking community since the pandemic — is shedding light on the cultural and linguistic factors that influence mental health and wellness.
The Latino population in Greater Richmond has grown by 167% since 2010 — from just over 35,000 residents to nearly 95,000 — according to Oswaldo Moreno, director of VCU’s La Esperanza Research Collaborative.
Nearly 70% of the participants reported no history of seeking mental health services. Researchers found that lack of health care coverage, logistical challenges (like transportation and hours of operation), cultural stigma and lack of culturally competent care all acted as barriers to mental health treatment for the Latino community in Greater Richmond.
“This underscores a significant barrier to accessing mental health care due to low rates of insurance coverage for behavioral health services and not knowing whether or not their insurance coverage covers the overall behavioral health,” Moreno said.
Community leaders at the meeting said another major concern within the health care community is that people will forgo necessary care due to fear of immigration enforcement.
Military suicide data bill scrapped in Virginia Senate
Reported by VPM News’ Dean Mirshahi
A Virginia Senate panel voted down a bill aimed at preventing veteran and military suicides. It was an unexpected turn for the bipartisan bill, since it previously passed unanimously through the House of Delegates. Now, its sponsor is waiting to see if the state budget will fund the effort.
House Bill 1738, introduced by Del. David Reid (D–Loudoun), sought to require Virginia’s vital records registrar to compile and share information on veteran and military suicides with the state Department of Veterans Services. It would have also created a suicide prevention program within the department to review the data for an annual report.
The bill cleared the Virginia House 99–0, but was killed Monday in the Democrat-led Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
“That was not something I was necessarily expecting,” Reid told VPM News. “But I've also been doing this long enough [to know] that the longer these get pushed off to the last minute, you recognize that it's possible that they're gonna run into trouble when they go to Senate Finance or House Appropriations. That's just the nature of the way the process works.”
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- Bill prohibiting police from lying to children passes Virginia Senate (Courthouse News Service)
- Virginia GOP feud with conservative wing spills into critical election year (Virginia Mercury)
- Youngkin promises help for federal workers but defends Trump job cuts (The Washington Post)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
