Escondido, California Therapists

Overview of Mental Health Resources in Escondido, California

Escondido is a San Diego suburb with a high cost of living. The city has an estimated population of 149, 912 people and a median income of $54, 268. The income is fairly normal compared to the national average, but it’s low compared to surrounding areas. The San Diego County median income, by comparison, is $69, 346.

The city’s residents enjoy a low crime rate and ample employment opportunities. Housing prices are steep, with the median property value resting at $368, 500. This might explain why the homeownership rate is less than 50%.

Escondido Demographics

Escondido is a racially diverse city, with over 50% of the population identifying as Hispanic. 38% of residents are white, 6% are Asian, and less than 2% are black.

The city has a lot of inhabitants who were born in another country. 48% can speak a language other than English.

17% of the population lives below the poverty line. Single females are most likely to fall into this category.

There are multiple private higher education institutions in Escondido. Most students in the area graduate from massage therapy programs.

Escondido Crime Rate

Escondido does not have a big crime problem.

In 2017, the city’s official website reported: “Annual crime statistics for the year-to-date have been reported as of April. Homicide, rape cases, residential burglary, larceny and, motor vehicle crime are down from this same time period last year; robbery and aggravated assault cases reflect the same numbers as this reporting period for 2016.”

Escondido Mental Health

Escondido, like most California cities, has problems with its mental health services. San Diego County has been excused of spending most of its resources on consultants and political projects rather than truly helping patients. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, at the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year, the county had more than $170 million leftover from the Mental Health Services Act.

“They’re not addressing the seriously mentally ill… They have allowed the problem to be on the shoulders of our jails and prisons and hospitals,” Theresa Bish, a former member of the county mental health advisory board, said.

San Diego county is not alone. Multiple California counties are sitting on more than $100 million in unspent mental health resources.

“We have a lot of work to do to fight stigma and help those suffering with mental illness… Demanding CA counties use the $2.5 BILLION in unspent Prop 63 funds would go a long way to doing that,” Assemblyman Todd Gloria complained in October.

Proposition 63, or the Mental Health Services Act, imposes a 1% tax on the state’s millionaires. The money is supposed to be spent exclusively on treating the mentally ill. San Diego County alone has raised more than $1 billion since the act was put into place.

Critics complain that the money has been poorly spent and residents still don’t have access to proper mental health services.

Rose King, one of the authors of the act, explained that: “They could put the money into existing programs… They could pay the psychiatrists more to get more psychiatrists into the system. They could hire more social workers and more clinical services people so patients don’t have to wait three or four months for treatment.”

Between 2004 and 2017 San Diego County’s suicide rate rose by almost 45%.

Although critics believe that more needs to be done, the county is making obvious efforts to improve the situation. Officials have created a program called “It’s Up to Us.” The goal is to reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Project One for All, meanwhile, aims to connect patients with providers.