Remembering Pierre Damas Bel: What Haitian TPS Uncertainty Is Doing to Our Mental Health
Pierre did everything a young, proud Haitian person is told to do: take your education seriously and work hard. Marine Corps JROTC. National Honor Society. A scholarship to Wright State University, where he had just started his first semester. Then in June the Supreme Court allowed this administration to end TPS for Haiti, one more step in its effort to humiliate immigrants and throw our families into chaos. On July 29, ICE fitted him with a GPS ankle monitor. He wrote that he had come here for an education and did not deserve to be treated like a criminal. His father says he felt "treated like an animal." He died on August 31. Pierre deserved to be here.
Suicide is never caused by one thing, and I will not pretend to know everything Pierre was carrying. But I do know what I see in my practice: humiliation and the loss of a future you were promised are dangerous on their own. Right now this administration and its abusive immigration policy are handing both to Haitian families, along with the constant question of who will be taken next. Fear and rage are reasonable responses. So is asking for help, and help does not have to mean police, a hospital hold, or anyone who might call ICE.
If you are worried about someone, ask directly: "Are you thinking about suicide?" The question does not plant the idea. It tells the person you can handle the answer. Stay with them, help them reach a warmline or 988, and check in again tomorrow. If you are the one struggling, the free download guide below called "Who to Call When It's Too Much" on my worksheets page lists warmlines run by people who look like us and who will not send police to your door.
SEE FULL BLOG POST → https://mymindsetnyc.com/blog/what-to-say-suicidal
WHO TO CALL WHEN IT’S TOO MUCH → https://mymindsetnyc.com/therapy-worksheet/p/warmline-crisis-support-guide
About Me
Jessica Thomas is a Haitian-American licensed mental health therapist based in New York and also licensed in Florida and Washington, DC. She works with first-generation and BIPOC adults who built their lives by being the reliable one and are ready to step out of survival mode: burnout, anxiety, racial and cultural stress, trauma, and the family patterns that come with growing up between worlds. Sessions are virtual, and therapy goes slower than you are used to, with somatic and parts work instead of quick fixes. Learn more and book a free 20-minute consultation with her here.
Sources for the facts about Pierre: OSV News (Sept 3, 2026), CNN (Sept 2, 2026), NBC News (Sept 1, 2026), Americans for Immigrant Justice (Sept 4, 2026). Warmline list: InclusiveTherapists.com/crisis, updated Fall 2026. This post is educational and is not a substitute for therapy or crisis care.