Making a Difference, Facts & Figures- the 'why':

‘About 20% of U.S. youth during their lifetime are affected by some type of mental disorder to an extent that they have difficulty functioning, according to a new NIMH survey.’

-October 2010 Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

'In Ohio about 124,000 children live with serious mental health conditions.

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among youth and young adults aged 15-24.

During the '06-'07 school year, approximately 29% of Ohio students age 14 and older living with serious mental health conditions dropped out of high school.'

-NAMI State Statistics for Ohio

'Only 10% of adults with serious mental health needs are employed.' Herman, 2006

'Over 60% of young adults with a serious mental illness are not able to complete high school and lack the skills necessasry to live independently.' Bazelon Law 2004

ODMH also reports 'transition-age youth with serious mental illness have higher rates of alcohol and other drug abuse and are 3x more likely to be involved in criminal activity.'

'In 2006, 4,149 children were incarcertated in Ohio's juvenile justice system.'

'Nationally, approximately 70% of youth in juvenile justice systems experience mental health disorders.' (20% experiencing a severe mental health condition).

-NAMI State Statistics for Ohio

'There are approximately 161,569 children and adolescents in Ohio between the age of 5 and 18 projected to have SED, serious emotional disturbance out of a total population of 2,019,609.'

-(In Franklin county, the number is 15,039 using SAMHSA '09 estimate of 7-9% on average in Ohio CMHS publication by Friedman, RM, Katz-Leavy, JW, Manderscheid, RW, & Sondheimer, DL.)

'11% reported being severely impaired by a mood disorder-depression or bi-polar disorder.'

'10% reported being severely impaired by a behavior disorder such as ADHD or conduct disorder.'

'8% reported being severely impaired by at least one type of anxiety disorder.'

-October 2010 Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

'Emotional, physical and sexual trauma has immediate effect on children and latent impact on adults according to the CDC Adverse Childhood Experiences Study with 8 categories of adverse childhood experiences.' 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey Special Population Report

'Among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents using two self-report data collection instruments, 'consistent reports of physical and sexual abuse were given by 86% and 71% respectively.'

-Journal of Traumatic Stress Vol 12 Issue 4 June 2005

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Photo credit: Wikimedia Creative Commons by Blackemorose released into public domain worldwide 2009