ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly 2.9 million adults in Florida have some sort of mental health condition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and only about 36% receive any form of treatment.
Dr. Megan Sherod is a psychology professor at the University of Central Florida and said that often, people don’t get the help they need because they can’t afford it.
“The system is kind of broken in a lot of different places,” Sherod told News 6.
About 13% of Floridians are at or below the poverty level, which is about 3 million people. Sherod said that brings its own set of challenges.
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“I would say a good portion of those folks are going to have clinical levels of anxiety, especially if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, clinical levels of depression, not knowing if you’re going to lose your house,” Sherod said.
Experts estimate half a million Floridians with a mental illness are uninsured.
The Department of Children and Families Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program has services for low-income and uninsured people, but there are more than 1,300 people on the waitlist every month, according to a legislative report by the State Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Those waiting sometimes end up in crises.
Marisa Gould is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Master’s Program at UCF.
“I see it a lot,” Gould said. “I work in crisis center at the moment.”
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She gets hands-on experience at Aspire Health Partners in Pine Hills.
“People haven’t been able to afford preliminary care, to receive care prior to crises,” Gould said.
Mental health in America ranked Florida 46th in the country in terms of access to care.
Some are unable to access care due to financial reasons, travel time and distance to available services, and/or no available space at facilities, according to the State Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse report.
Too few facilities and a lack of mental health workers add to the problem.
Seeing the need is what drew Tylea Hernandez into UCF’s clinical psychology master’s program.
“I come from a really small town where there’s a lack of resources,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez interns at Halifax Hospital in Volusia County, determined to make a difference.
“We see a lot of patients every day. We’re understaffed, and we just can’t keep up with how many people are coming to the hospital,” Hernandez said.
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