Mental Health News
- It is estimated that mental illness affects 1 in 5 families in America.1
- Without treatment the consequences of mental illness for the individual and society are staggering: unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives; The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars each year in the United States.2 NAMI website
- One in seventeen live with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder and about one in ten children have a serious mental or emotional disorder.3
- An estimated 5.2 million adults have co-occurring mental health and addiction disorders.4 Of adults using homeless services, thirty-one percent reported having a combination of these conditions.5
- Twenty-four percent of state prisoners and 21 percent of local jail prisoners have a recent history of a mental health disorder.6 Seventy percent of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental disorder with at least 20 percent experiencing significant functional impairment from a serious mental illness.7 NAMI Fact Sheet
- Severe mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.8
- The #1 reason for hospital admissions nationwide is psychiatric disorders.9 NJAMHA Website
- Historically, there are approximately 1,200 children who become legally free for adoption each year in New Jersey. 10 Department of Children & Families Data
- One out of every five New Jersey families does not earn enough to afford the basic necessities – housing, food and child care – although 85 percent of these households have at least one family member who is working. Only 6 percent of them receive welfare.11
- Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s.12 Community Food Bank of New Jersey
- In southern New Jersey, approximately 87,000 people are at risk of hunger.13
- Burlington County - 6,949 children are living in poverty; Camden County - 19,770 children are living in poverty; Salem County - 1,963 children are living in poverty; Gloucester County - 3,324 children are living in poverty.14 Food Bank of Southern New Jersey
- Mental health patients, however, were substantially more likely than all New Jersey residents to initiate alcohol use before age 15 (40 percent of outpatients, 30 percent of partial care patients and 16 percent of New Jersey adults).15
- In their lifetimes, 77 percent of outpatients and 63 percent of partial care patients reported use of one or more illicit drugs, compared to 32 percent of all New Jersey residents.16 2004 Report
1 "What is Mental Illness: Mental Illness Facts." National Alliance on Mental Illness. About Mental Illness. 05 Jan. 2009
2 "What is Mental Illness: Mental Illness Facts." National Alliance on Mental Illness. About Mental Illness. 05 Jan. 2009
3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,Center for Mental Health Services,1999, pp. 408-409, 411.
4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2007, February). National Outcome Measures (NOMs) for Co-Occurring Disorders. [Citing 2005 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)].
5 Burt, M. (2001). What will it take to end homelessness? Urban Institute: Washington, D.C., p. 3
6 Glaze, L.E. & James, D.J. (2006, September). Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics:Washington, D.C.
7 Skowyra, K.R. & Cocozza, J.J. (2007) Blueprint for change. National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice; Policy Research Associates, Inc. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
8 "Fact Sheets: Did You Know?" New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies. 05 Jan. 2009
9 "Fact Sheets: Did You Know?" New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies. 05 Jan. 2009
10 United States of America. State of New Jersey. Department of Children and Families. Child Welfare Statistics and Data: Outcome Data. 05 Jan. 2009
11 "Hunger Here at Home." Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Nov. 2008. Did You Know... 05 Jan. 2009
12 "Hunger Here at Home." Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Nov. 2008. Did You Know... 05 Jan. 2009
13 "Hunger in South Jersey." Food Bank of South Jersey. 05 Jan. 2009
14 "Hunger in South Jersey." Food Bank of South Jersey. 05 Jan. 2009
15 United States of America. New Jersey Department of Human Services. The 2004 New Jersey Survey of Mental Health Patients on Drug Use and Health. Jan. 2006. Department of Human Services. 05 Jan. 2009
16 United States of America. New Jersey Department of Human Services. The 2004 New Jersey Survey of Mental Health Patients on Drug Use and Health. Jan. 2006. Department of Human Services. 05 Jan. 2009
