The need for behavioral health services among the populations that we serve is illuminated by the following statistics:
There is an estimated 5% prevalence of serious mental illness among adults in the US (1). Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/statistics/SMI_AASR.shtml
The adult population in the US is 76%. Source: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
Applied to DC, these statistics indicate that roughly about 23,000 adults in the District of Columbia alone and a whopping 212,000 adults in the DC Metropolitan area will experience serious mental illness in their lifetime – see this link for population breakdown for DC and DC Metro Area: http://search.census.gov/search?utf8=✓&affiliate=census&query=population+distribution+and+change+2000+to+2010&commit.x=11&commit.y=7 (Click on the brief titled “Population Distribution and Change: 2000 to 2010”)
The rate for children is even more alarming. The prevalence of serious emotional disorder (SED) among children nationally is estimated to be between 5 to 9 percent4. Source: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/cre/execsummary-1.html%20%20%0d
Thus, the range of children living with SED in the District of Columbia is roughly between 7,200 and 13,000. In the general DC Metro area, an estimated 67,000 to 120,000 children live with SED. See pg 46 of this document for statistics relating to SED prevalence among children http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/cre/execsummary-1.html%20%20%0d