Nampa, Idaho Therapists

An Overview of Mental Health in Nampa, Idaho

Nampa, Idaho, is a mid-size city in Canyon County in the southwestern part of the state. It offers some positive traits that make it a lovely city to call home. Known for the comfortable climate, Nampa is a great place to enjoy outdoor activities, and the weather is just one of the attractive features. The unemployment rate of 4.5 percent is lower than the national average, and job prospects continue to improve. A growth rate of 2.9 percent is expected in the coming ten-year period. The weather is another benefit to life in Nampa. Winters are slightly cooler than the national average, but so are the summers.

Despite all the things to love about Nampa, you have to remember that living in Nampa does have its challenges. For example, the income tax rate of 7.4 percent is higher than the national average of 4.6 percent. The median household income is lower than average, $44,079 per year in 2016 compared to $51,807 for the state as a whole. The crime rate is slightly higher than the national average, 289.5 incidents per 100,000 in the population as compared to 278.1 for the United States. The vast majority of the criminal activity involves property crimes rather than violent offenses against people.

In order to gauge the general health of the region, in 2017, Saint Alphonsus Hospital published a Community Health Needs Assessment. One of the most striking figures that emerged from the study was the number of families living in poverty. The researchers took a unique look at this, combining the traditional measure of families living at or below the federal poverty line with a measure called ALICE. This mnemonic stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and includes consideration of the cost of living and household income of the county. When taken together, 40 percent of Nampa households fit this category.

Economic Challenges in Nampa, Idaho

Economic difficulty is strongly correlated with the need for mental health services and barriers to accessing it. The following data from the Community Health Needs Assessment indicates a myriad of mental health and substance abuse challenges for the Nampa area.

• More than 16 percent of those surveyed indicated that they experienced seven or more days of poor mental health in the previous 30 days.
• More than 13 percent described 14 or more such days.
• Canyon County has only one mental health provider for every 883 people in the population.

While these statistics may not seem optimistic, it’s important to note that poverty rates in Nampa are on the decline for most age groups. The exception is, unfortunately, children. The number of children living in poverty in Canyon County exceeds 25 percent.

Available Mental Health Services in Nampa, Idaho

Providers working in Nampa offer a variety of services to people dealing with acute and chronic mental health conditions. This list includes a few of these agencies.

• Luke’s Clinic has a Psychiatric Services division serving those age 18 years and older. The facility accepts most insurances and offers discounted services for those without coverage.
• The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare offers mental and behavioral health services to adults and children. Services are provided on a sliding fee scale based on income. No one is turned away due to an inability to pay.
• Allied Mental Health Services, PLLC provides case management, counseling, medication management and more to the client and his or her family. Clients pay based on a sliding scale. The agency uses a multi-faceted approach to deal with the behavioral manifestations of mental health disorders while seeking to address the underlying issues as well.