Mental health facts and figures

Mental health partnership

When it comes to caring for its citizens, Colorado is lagging. The following facts may surprise North Forty News readers.

• Colorado is dead last in the country in per capita funding for substance abuse prevention, treatment and research, according to a Columbia University study.
• Colorado is one of only two states that do not fund substance abuse treatment under Medicaid.
• One-third of the youth held by the Colorado Department of Youth Corrections have mental health needs.
• In Larimer County, an estimated 68,000 people are affected by substance abuse or a mental health disorder. Of those, an estimated 21,000 people have significant functional impairment due to mental illness and 15,000 have substance abuse disorders.
• Larimer County's suicide rate is 40 percent higher than the national average. In 2003, 46 people committed suicide in Larimer County, nearly one each week.
• Locally, mental health treatment is much less expensive before it reaches a crisis level. One outpatient visit to the Larimer Center for Mental Health costs the center $5.29. A visit to Poudre Valley Hospital's emergency department costs $575, while one day of inpatient care at Mountain Crest Hospital costs $1,545.

National statistics are also alarming:

• One in five adults will experience a mental disorder in the course of a year (Surgeon General's report).
• Fewer than one-third of adults in need receive mental health services (Surgeon General's report).
• More than 90 percent of suicide victims had one or more mental disorders. The risk of suicide in alcoholics is 50 to 70 percent higher than in the general population (American Association of Suicidology).
• Substance abuse and mental health issues are often related. Fifty-one percent of those with one or more lifetime mental disorders also have a lifetime history of at least one substance abuse disorder (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).