Mental health

• At least one in five children and adolescents between ages 9-17 have a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. 
• In 2001, less than one half of the 15 million adults 18 or older with a serious mental illness received treatment or counseling during the past year.
• Mental illness is on a par with heart disease and cancer as a cause of disability.
• 16-20% of children and adolescents have an emotional, behavioral, or developmental problem. 

What is mental health? What is mental illness?

Mental health refers to how a person thinks, feels, and acts when faced with life situations – that is, how they perform mental functions. Mental health is vital to overall good health, fulfilling relationships, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with stress and adversity.

Mental health problems are alterations in thinking, mood, feelings, or behavior with distress and/or impaired functioning.  Mental health problems can range in severity from, for example, feeling angry most of the time and being unable to control impulses to diagnosable mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders, among many others.

Mental health problems are common, affecting both genders from all racial, educational, and socioeconomic groups – generally at similar rates. Yet, variations do exist because some populations, such as those living in poverty, have greater exposure to contributing factors:  fewer protective factors and less access to appropriate supports and treatment.

Vulnerable groups include children involved in the child welfare system; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals; the homeless; incarcerated individuals; and seniors.

Why are mental health prevention and treatment important?

Addressing mental health in low-income communities can include a range of activities: promoting mental well-being, preventing problems, addressing problems when they occur, and treating and managing illnesses when they develop.

A focus on improving mental health among vulnerable populations can reduce suffering, disability, and death while improving quality of life and productivity. Strong mental health can translate into greater school retention, improved job performance, better relationships, less contact with the justice system, and decreased substance use, violence, and suicide. In other words:  stronger communities.

Individual and community resilience.  Everyone experiences stress and trauma throughout their life. With adequate support from relationships and environments, individuals can often endure these times and maintain mental health. The capacity to avoid risks and thrive in spite of trauma is called resilience.

Both individuals and communities can be resilient. While for individuals resilience is largely innate, it can also be affected by our experiences and environment.  Resilience factors associated with mental health include strong social connections,  adequate housing,  and opportunities for artistic expression.

With more resilience factors and fewer risk factors, a person is less likely to develop a mental health problem, and more likely to recover if they develop one. Resilience is important for treatment and management of severe and persistent mental illnesses and non-preventable mental illnesses as well. For all of these reasons, promoting resilience in individuals is crucial.  Donors can play a key role creating communities that help support resilience.

Community barriers and challenges.  One of the biggest barriers to addressing mental health is stigma – negative attitudes and beliefs that lead to discrimination against people with mental health problems. As a result of widespread stigma, people with mental health problems have more difficulty finding and sustaining a home and job, and often conceal symptoms and avoid seeking treatment.

Another challenge is the general lack of value placed on mental health and the resulting failure to properly invest in its promotion and treatment. 

Many mental health problems are preventable.  Others worsen unnecessarily over time, because they go untreated.  For low-income populations, finding affordable, appropriate treatment is a challenge. Far too many low-income people with mental illness are funneled into hospitals, jails (the largest providers of mental health services), homeless shelters and nursing homes. The expenses borne by these systems greatly exceed the cost of preventive services and supports.

How can your giving can help?

Addressing mental health requires work on a number of different fronts. You may be interested in meeting more immediate needs by supporting existing programs or developing new programs that address mental health at the community level.

You might also consider addressing mental health through organizing and advocacy. Look for groups that mobilize community members to create funding streams for preventive services and reducing stigma. Groups might also be working in your community to expand programs for children and improve coordination of service delivery systems. 

Whether you decide to address immediate needs or take a long-term approach through organizing and advocacy, organizations can benefit from capacity building support to help strengthen internal systems and infrastructure.

To learn how your giving can support different approaches to improving mental health in low-income communities, read on. 

• Tackling immediate needs
  
• Developing new programs
  
• Organizing for change
  
• Advocating for change
  
• Strengthening community groups