A new study from University of Chicago researchers has found increasing rates of suicide among Black and Latino Chicago residents.

Mental health resources and early intervention can play a crucial role in preventing suicides, but researchers say those services are becoming harder to access.

Arturo Carrillo, deputy director of health and violence prevention for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, said he’s seeing the impacts in his own community.

“What we’ve seen is that the areas that have seen the highest rates of disinvestment are also the highest areas of the city, with the highest rates of behavioral health-related 911 calls,” he said. “So we’ve seen the impacts of disinvestment, and how it’s left communities without resources and unfortunately, having to rely on a system of care that doesn’t exist”

Janelle Goodwill, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Work and the study’s author, hopes her findings lead to more discussion of how policymakers and others can better support mental health treatment.

“It’s important to reiterate that researchers are not the ones who are going to only lead the change,” Goodwill said. “It really has to be really a community effort that’s led by policymakers, clinicians, researchers, organizers.”