Newswise — MAYWOOD, IL – Natalie Baeza, a mental health counselor at MacNeal Hospital, will be competing in the 2023 Miss Illinois Scholarship Competition beginning June 7th. She hopes to use her platform as the reigning Miss Cicero and experience as a counselor to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in the LatinX community.
Natalie is passionate about increasing access to mental health services, "It is not common for individuals in the LatinX community who struggle with mental health to receive the treatment they need. Community members may have a difficult time getting the help they need due to language barriers, lack of health insurance, cultural beliefs or immigration status causing them to fear separation and deportation. There is also a cultural stigma that mental health is a phase someone will go through and get over. It is important to remind our community that mental health is real."
Baeza was named Miss Cicero and Pageant Queen for Mexican Independence for 2022-2023. She is the first Miss Cicero to compete in the Miss Illinois competition and the only Latina, according to the town of Cicero's website. “I want to be an example for the new generation, especially for little girls who come up to me and they’re like ‘I want to be like you someday,’” said Baeza.
"I am so proud of Natalie for using her experience here at MacNeal to guide her platform in the Miss Illinois competition," said Colleen Calhoun, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CNL, behavioral health inpatient nurse manager at MacNeal. "She is an example of how we live the Loyola Medicine core values here in our Behavioral Health Department, we don't just talk about them. Mental health care is still deeply stigmatized in a lot of cultures, including the LatinX culture. Any chance for folks to hear about it from someone who lives in the community and deeply understands the barriers increases the likelihood that people will seek the care they need."
Baeza and Calhoun are active with the National Association for Hispanic Nurses working to identify opportunities to improve mental health care in underserved communities.
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