Life as one of few Puerto Ricans in her largely white school drove Erin Mercado, 16, to start cutting her wrists and downing pills.

For 14 year-old “DM,” it was the stress of moving from Mexico, of learning a new language and of clashing with her mother when she started running with gangs.

“I thought nothing was important to me, not even my life,” DM told a city Council committee Monday. “I used to think about killing myself.”

Erin and DM are the face of a crisis rippling across New York and the nation – teen girls from Latino families considering suicide at rates far greater than girls from other backgrounds.

The Council hearing was held to address stunning data from the Centers for Disease Control: 15% of female Hispanic teens attempted suicide in 2009, compared with 10% of all city high school girls.

The rates are even higher in Brooklyn, where one in five girls – 21% – attempted suicide at least once in 2009.

“I was in shock because I didn’t think this could possibly happen to our family because we’re so open about things,” said Erin’s mother, Nivia Dones. “But, obviously, you know your child inside the home, but you don’t know your child outside the home or what the child is going through with their peers and their environment.”

City officials say they’re addressing the crisis through an online campaign using Myspace, Facebook and other social networking sites.

They’re also screening for at-risk kids through school counselors and in-school mental health centers.

But Council members railed that more needs to be done.

“These are lives,” said Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-Queens), who chaired Monday’s hearing as head of the women’s issues committee. “These are young women who could be a Council member like myself as a Latina. And they need to have an opportunity to tap into the resources that are available.”

Among problems facing officials is the stigma that some Latino families face against seeking psychological help.

Nivia and her husband, Manuel Dones, credit their willingness to seek therapy with saving their daughter’s life.

“If we hadn’t, she probably wouldn’t be here,” Manuel said.

DAILY NEWS
BY ERIN EINHORN