Mental illness forum in Sonoma County reveals level of widespread need
SANTA ROSA -- There is an epidemic of mental illness in this country these days, and if you ask the people who have to deal with the consequences, it becomes clear that everyone is affected by it.
A recent community forum on mental health in Sonoma County may have seemed like a dry topic, but for those trying to maintain the quality of life in Sonoma County, it is the very problem they're facing.
'"At the local level, we get to deal with all the consequences of all the changes that the world is going through," said Sonoma Board of Supervisors Chair Chris Coursey.
The county's Department of Health Services hosted the gathering to bring together the different departments that are affected by the mental health crisis, and it turned out to be pretty much everybody. From the explosion in recent years of homelessness to the alarming rise in opioid addiction, from crime to teen suicide, it feels like every aspect of normal life has been turned upside down.
Most point to the pandemic as the catalyst.
"There was so much loneliness," said Sonoma County Dept. of Health Services Director Tina Rivera. "That's one of the things we're learning here in these panels, is the impacts of loneliness and isolation that we saw, that had such impacts on our mental health."
That has especially been true for young people.
"The CDC has said that young people are experiencing more sadness and hopelessness than they've ever seen before," said county mental health consultant Jasmin Flores. "But most people are, like, well, why is that happening?"
Flores says the pandemic interrupted normal social development by forcing kids to communicate with each other electronically.
"When you're behind the screen, you almost become a little bit automated," said Flores. "You don't have to have interactions and discussions with people the way you do when you're actually in front of someone."
And it's not just the kids. Supervisor Chris Coursey says internet communication has ramped up social anger, giving anyone and everyone a political megaphone.
"Is all this communication literally driving us crazy? Um, it's a good question," said Coursey. "I don't think that it's driving us crazy, but it's making people more anxious. It's making people feel differently about themselves and about the world."
The price tag is staggering. Sonoma County's budget for behavioral health services is more than $140 million per year. And yet, there is now a shortage of mental health providers.
"In the midst of this pandemic and the multiple disasters and the increases in all of these areas, we began to see professionals say, 'I'm done, you know, I can't do this anymore,'" said Rivera.
Mental illness has become the universal problem of our times, affecting everyone's pocketbook, if not their very lives.