Northeast > Resources > Topic Specific > Diverse Populations > Racial and ethical minority populations

What are edge communities? How does delivery of substance abuse and mental health services to ethnic minority youth differ in edge communities than those in other communities?

It is estimated that by 2050, racial and ethnic minorities will make up about half of the total U.S. population; youth of color will make up 40 percent of the youth population. Challenges face minority, including immigrant, adolescents, who in increasing numbers live in communities on the "edge" of older metropolitan areas that lack good schools and responsive services, and precipitate pressures that lead to psychosocial and mental disorders as well as substance abuse (the term "edge" communities comes from Edge City: Life on the Frontier). Almost half (47 percent) of the minorities in the large metropolitan areas lived in the suburbs in 2000, compared to just over 40 percent a decade ago. Unfortunately, the current mental health promotion and substance abuse prevention and treatment infrastructure is unable to meet these adolescents’ needs. The intersection of these challenges results in a burden of suffering for children and adolescents in terms of mental disorders and substance abuse.

The northeast region encompasses many such "edge" communities, where racial and ethnic enclaves are growing at the same time as their tax base is eroding, schools are deteriorating, and job opportunities are declining. Where blacks, Hispanics, or Asians are present in small proportions, they are minimally segregated; however, where most minority group members live, and where they are a more substantial share of the suburban population, the dynamic is different. In these areas, the segregation of Hispanics and Asians has increased since 1990 and in metropolitan areas where Hispanics comprise more than 10 percent of the suburban population, the average Hispanic lived in a neighborhood that was 44 percent Hispanic in 1990 and 49 percent Hispanic in 2000. In the Northeast, for example, several suburban locations have seen an increase from 1990 to 2000 in the segregation of Hispanics from whites like the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; and Newark, New Jersey (The New Ethnic Enclaves in America’s Suburbs).

States and localities in the region are faced with some key challenges in developing an adequate response to improve access to mental health and substance abuse services for youth in these under-served communities. Due to a confluence of economic, demographic, and socio-cultural factors, life in such communities precipitates pressures that can drive school-aged youth to abuse substances, or lead to psychosocial and mental disorders. The current mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment infrastructure is unable to meet the needs of school-aged youth in these "edge" communities due to poorly coordinated service and inadequately trained prevention workforce. In addition, there exists a paucity of research and knowledge about evidence-based programs, policies, and principles of effective mental health promotion and substance abuse prevention for this population.

Because of the distinct health, economic, social and developmental profile of youth from native and immigrant racial and ethnic minorities, assuring their health and well being presents both challenges and opportunities to the public health and health care communities. For example, according to research data referenced black youth have less access to and availability of care, and tend to receive poorer quality health and mental health services (Melting Pot Suburbs: A Census 2000 Study of Suburban Diversity). These disparities leave minority communities with a greater disability burden from unmet mental health needs. The Northeast CAPT is committed to addressing these needs and concerns through various initiatives.

Below is a list of resources that provides additional information:

• Frey, William. Melting Pot Suburbs: A Census 2000 Study of Suburban Diversity. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, 2001.

• Garreau, Joel. Edge City: Life on the New Frontier. New York: Anchor Books, 1992.

• Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research. The New Ethnic Enclaves in America’s Suburbs. http://www.albany.edc/mumford/census (November 2001).

• National Institutes of Health. Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities. NIH Publication No. 98-3888; revised September 1998.

• Reid, Gary; Aitken, Campbell; Beyer, Lorraine; Crofts, Nick. Ethnic communities’ vulnerability to involvement with illicit drugs. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy 8, no. 4 (2001): 359-374.

• SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies. The Relationship Between Mental Health and Substance Abuse Among Adolescents. Rockville, MD (April 1999).

• Song, Angela Miri. Comparing Minorities' Ethnic Options: Do Asian Americans Possess ‘More’ Ethnic Options than African Americans? Ethnicities 1, no. 1 (2001): 57-82.

Please contact the Northeast CAPT at capt@edc.org for more information.