Therapists in St. Cloud, MN and Nearby Locations

Mental Health in St. Cloud, Minnesota

Located in Central Minnesota, St. Cloud is the seat of Stearns County along the Mississippi River. The region produces dairy farming and rich fields of grain. Granite quarries that worked from 1868 are still active today. St. Cloud’s 2019 population is 67,984. It is the third-largest Minnesota metro area, with a combined population of approximately 189,000 residents.

St. Cloud has the highest poverty rate of eleven top Minnesota cities. At 21.6% of citizens living below the poverty line, St. Cloud poverty is more than double Minnesota’s 9.9% rate. Not surprisingly, the city also has Minnesota’s highest unemployment rate. The state unemployment rate is 3.9%, while St. Cloud is at 4.1%. The national poverty rate is at 4.9%. St. Cloud is losing residents faster than any other city in Minnesota. In the past five years, the city lost 1.0% of its population. An interactive cycle exists between poverty and mental illness.

St. Cloud’s Demographic Profile

St. Cloud’s population represents a low diversity. The citizens are nearly 90% White and English is the dominant language.  6.9% of residents are non-U.S. citizens.

Citizens in the minority are Black at 11.9%, Asian at 3.2%, Racially Mixed or Other at 3.3%, and Native Americans at 0.9%. Major languages spoken in St. Cloud are English, at 86.3%, and Other at 7.4%, while 2.2% speak Indo-European, 2.2% speak an Asian language, and 2.0% speak Spanish.

The race with the most members living below the poverty level is Black at over 50%. Those who identify as White represent the race least likely to live in poverty.

Poverty, Crime, and Mental Illness

There is an interactive cycle between poverty and mental illness. People who live with mental disorders are often unable to work, forcing them into poverty. Poverty, in turn, means people cannot maintain basic living needs, have poor nutrition, cannot afford treatment for physical disorders, and lose education opportunities, adding to their difficulty finding work. The stigma of mental illness can drive away community and family support.

Poverty is unfortunately a breeding ground for crime. When crime involves substance abuse, mental illness can result. St. Cloud’s violent crime rate is 435 per 100,000 people. It is more dangerous to live in St. Cloud than in 93% of any other cities in America; only 7% of U.S. cities have more crime. Statistics show that a person living in St. Cloud has a 1 in 24 chance of being a property crime victim. Violent crime is twice as high as the rest of the state. When crime involves substance abuse, mental illness can result.

Low Mental Health Provider Access in St. Cloud

St. Cloud’s mental health services require long wait times for treatment. The lack of providers leaves mentally ill people without resources. Those who need help overflow jails, hospitals, and detox centers. Frustrated St. Cloud police are becoming defacto mental health “go-to” providers. Their service logs overflow with calls to deal with suicidal people or perform welfare checks when anxious family members lose track of a mentally ill relative.

One woman reported her son lived in a vicious cycle of criminal infractions, followed by prosecution and commitment to jail for mental illness; afterward, he was immediately sent back out on the streets. The endless cycle of crime, arrest, charges, jail, and release back to society continued. The woman knew her son appeared to be a frightening person; he engaged in threatening behaviors. In desperation, she went to the police and gave them her son’s name and identification pictures, along with her phone number. She begged them to call her instead of shooting her son because she could control him. She explained that his severe mental illness caused his threatening behavior. Making a deal with the police was the only solution she could find to protect the boy, given that her son continued to wait for mental health treatment that never materialized.