Coon Rapids, Minnesota Therapists

An Overview of Mental Health in Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Coon Rapids, a northern suburb of Minneapolis, is the largest city in Anoka County, Minnesota. Situated on the Mississippi River, Coon Rapids residents can enjoy the amenities of small-town life, or take advantage of its easy 12-mile access to the big-city culture and excitement of Minneapolis. Coon Rapids has preserved its rural charm while offering attractions for young and old.

Coon Rapids is the home of Bunker Beach, the largest water park in outdoor Minnesota. Its impressive Bunker Hills Golf Course has hosted many of the PGA Senior Tours, attracting many of the nation’s greatest golfers to Coon Rapids over the years.

Challenges Facing Anoka County

Even smaller towns and rural county areas have fallen victim to common concerns regarding financial inequity, lack of inexpensive housing, and inadequate mental health services. From a large, countywide study, Anoka County used research to identify its most pressing community health issues. The county created a five-year plan from the study to address the problems through 2019.

Issues for Concern and Remediation

Each item of concern shares equal weight and no condition has been assigned value or preference over another. The following ten issues, in no particular order, were of highest concern for Anoka towns and cities:

• Connection between poverty, education, and unemployment
• Housing affordability
• Transportation and transit
• Growth of diversity
• Mental health
• Violence and safety, including elder abuse
• Obesity across all age groups
• Teen and young adult use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs
• Low vaccination rates
• Water quality and sustainability of future drinking water

An overarching concern in addressing these ten issues was how to minimize the current health disparities based on population types. Coon Rapids, like most American towns and cities, face challenges of reducing inequality and celebrating diversity in the population.

Coon Rapids has a high degree of crime, ranking as 83 percent more dangerous compared to all U.S. cities. Coon Rapids violent crime rate per 1,000 residents is highest in assault at 0.85 percent and robbery at 0.40 percent.

Property crimes per 1,000 residents are highest in motor vehicle theft at 0.83 percent, followed by robbery at 23.99 percent and burglary at 3.45 percent. Burglary and non-vehicle theft are considerably higher than the U.S. average.

Coon Rapids—a suburb of Minneapolis—may share in big-city crime since Minneapolis is the most dangerous place to live in Minnesota for 2019.

Detriments to Mental Health Care

Current indications report 112 mental health professionals for every 100,000 residents in Anoka County’s current population of 330,844. Only 0.01 percent of people countywide, including residents of Coon Rapids, have access to a mental health professional.

While the low percentage may be shocking, it is in line with a crisis in mental health care across America, with 3 out of 5 existing psychiatrists reaching retirement age within the next few years. Healthcare facilities are filling the void, when possible, from a limited number of available specialized nurses and physician assistants trained in psychiatrist-assistant support roles.

Demographic Profile of Coon Rapids

The population of Coon Rapids is 62,656 based on the latest U.S. Census data. Non-U.S. citizens in Coon Rapids are at 4.0 percent.

The majority of residents are White at 85.3 percent; Black citizens are at 6.0 percent, followed by Asians at 4.0 percent, and those who identify as Mixed at 4.4 percent. 89.39 percent of Coon Rapids’ population speaks only English, followed by European languages at 3.3 percent, Asian at 2.9%, Spanish at 2.3 percent and Other at 2.2 percent.

The overall poverty rate is 7.22 percent and correlates with education. The highest poverty rate for those who did not finish high school is almost 1.5 times higher than those with a college degree. The divorce rate is at 12.1 percent, with separated couples at 1.2 percent. These individuals might have avoided breaking up their families if they had access to marital and family counseling. The highest divorce rate was among Native Americans, and the lowest was among Asians.