FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STRETCH THE SAFETY NET DURING NATIONAL MENTAL ILLNESS AWARENESS WEEK AND WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
Salt Lake City, Utah –– October 5th through the 11th is National Mental Illness Awareness Week, coinciding with World Mental Health Day on October 10th. Encouraging Utahns to take action, the Polizzi Clinic has launched the Stretch the Net campaign to generate awareness and funding for critical psychiatric services that bridge the gap for uninsured Utahns.
The Polizzi Clinic provides a unique safety net for uninsured Utahns struggling with mental illness. Founded in 2011 by local psychiatrists, the clinic is the only resource for no-cost psychiatric treatment for children, adolescents and adults who lack any other options for care.
Despite full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, an estimated 13.4% of Americans are still uninsured (Gallup/Healthways, 2014). Mirroring the nation, 13.2% of Utahns lack vital health care coverage (Health Department, 2012).
Mental illness does not discriminate. 50% of all Americans will meet criteria for a mental disorder sometime in their life and 25% of us will do so in any given year. One in seven will experience severe mental illness that can cripple our lives (National Comorbidity Survey, 2003). 75% of serious mental illness begins by age 24, presenting in young adults who make up a disproportionate segment of the uninsured.
Mental illness is treatable. On average, patients are back on track after just six to eight visits and transition to primary care maintenance at free and affordable health clinics, including the Maliheh and Hope Clinics, reducing psychiatric hospitalizations, loss of life, and the many other side effects of untreated mental illness.
The network of resources that serve the uninsured and low-income are critical to so many students, employees, and parents in maintaining their jobs, housing, and family stability.
For more information on the Stretch the Net campaign, go to www.polizziclinic.org/stretch-the-net. For interviews:
Noel Gardner, MD – Polizzi Clinic Medical Director (801) 673-8287 or (801) 673-8284
Emily Capito, LCSW, MBA – Polizzi Clinic Executive Director (801) 898-0842
Jeanie Ashby – Maliheh Clinic Executive Director (801) 266-3700
The Polizzi Clinic bridges the gap for low-income, uninsured children, adolescents and adults in Utah. For more information, visit www.polizziclinic.org.
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Emily Capito, LCSW, MBA
Interim Executive Director
