According to County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, a project of the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute, 12 percent of the residents of Miami-Dade County report feeling frequent mental distress in any given month. That number’s not surprising, considering the group’s 2018 data also tells us that 21 percent of the county population under the age of 65 is uninsured, 17 percent of us engage in excessive drinking and there is only 1 mental health professional per 700 residents (less than half the national average). If you see yourself or your family members in those statistics, I hope you feel less alone. If you don’t, I hope they will inspire you to look for ways to help others to lead healthier and happier lives.
All of us have something different to contribute to the struggle for better outcomes. Doctors, therapists, teachers, police officers, social workers, parents and bus drivers all must be invited to the table to add their experiences and skills to the talent pool. Politicians, too, have a serious job to do. We have to figure out how to pay for it.
Many politicians and political hangers-on are under the misconception that politics is about talking. They pontificate and lecture, blather and scold, yell, hiss and whisper. It’s all hot air. Good politicians know that the real measure of political success at any level is our ability to get effective projects into the budget so that people with more knowledge, skill and wisdom can do the hard work of making our community better.
Miami-Dade County has a $8 billion annual budget. Just 10 percent of the 2018-2019 budget is dedicated to Health and Human Services, which includes healthcare, housing, and social and human services to those in need. A mere pittance from that mammoth budget is spent of psychological services. And while the opioid crisis hits the headlines across the nation and on the streets around us, the budget of the county’s Division of Rehabilitative Services has remained flat since 2015.
It’s easy these days for politicians to focus on the numbers in the budget and forget about the people we serve. It may be simpler to forget about the human impact of the choices we make as we work. The costs of Health and Human Services programs are often the first to hit the chopping block in budget negotiations. You get what you pay for. A society that undervalues investments in mental health and substance abuse resources shouldn’t be surprised to find its members stressed out and strung out. The sage Warren Buffet says, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
In December, The Women’s Fund in Miami is focusing on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. By mining data from the National Alliance for Mental Illness, the Pew Institute and the CDC, they hope to paint a picture of the challenges facing the children and families around us. The Women’s Fund will be hosting events and panels addressing mental health and substance abuse all month and promoting resources and helplines county-wide. Check out their website www.womensfundmiami.org for information.
