Woodland, California Therapists

An Overview of Mental Health in Woodland, California

Woodland, California is a suburb of Sacramento in Yolo County. Of Woodland residents, 14.21% are not U.S. citizens. The city of Woodland has plenty of small-town charm. Many large, historic homes grace its streets, and the community is vibrant and active.

Woodland can be proud of its community’s compassion and concern for underprivileged citizens. A large number of homeless residents live in abandoned or unsafe buildings or sleep unsheltered outdoors. The city government is taking steps to address the issue and divert funds to create permanent housing for those who have nowhere to live. Many of these citizens suffer from psychiatric conditions and severe mental illness.

To assess the need for help, the Yolo County Homeless and Poverty Action Coalition performs an annual count of homeless individuals on a single night in unacceptable, unsafe buildings or living unsheltered in the county. The count qualifies the county to receive Housing and Urban Development assistance.

Demographics for Woodland Residents

The city’s population is around 60,012 according to the recent United States census. The largest ethnic group is White at 70% (30% white Hispanic included). The next largest group is Asian at 12.2%, Black at 1.9%, Native Americans at 0.9%, and those who identify as Mixed at 3.6%. 55.4% speak English, followed by Spanish at 36.4% . Indo-European languages represent 4.1% while Asian languages are at 4%.

Education attainment for residents is relatively low in the United States. Of those attending high school, 9.96% did not complete 9^th grade, 9.82% participated in some high school; 23.35 graduated. 21.95% of Woodland citizens attended some college. 7.59% achieved associate degrees. 15.48% completed requirements for a Bachelors Degree. Those who pursued higher education accounted for 9.85%.

Poverty, Crime, and Divorce Rates

The race most likely to live below the poverty line in Woodland is Black at 48.49%, followed by Pacific Islander at 23.94%, those who identify as Other at 16.98%, then Mixed at 15.44%, and Native American at 12.08%. The race least likely to suffer poverty is White at 8.67% below the poverty line.

The highest percentage of divorced residents by race identifies as Mixed at 16% with 2.6% separated, followed by White at 24.5% divorced and 3.8% separated. Native Americans represented 13.2% divorced with 1.2% separated. The Hispanic divorce rate was 8.1% with 2.6 separated. Asian divorce rate was low at 4.6% with 1.6 separated, the lowest divorce rate was for Hawaiian at 3.2% and none separated.

Woodland is 87% less safe than U.S. cities. 1 in 32 people living in Woodland are likely to be a victim of a property crime, while 1 in 321 residents may be victims of a violent crime, including robbery, with assault accounting for the highest number of these crimes. Crime rates can worsen because of mental illness.

Challenges to Mental Health Improvement

Many members of Yolo County suffer from psychiatric difficulties, incarceration, and homelessness due to mental illness. The County has developed programs to reduce the number of psychiatric hospitalizations and improve quality of life by the chance to take interesting classes and other programs for meaningful activity. The county’s Department of Mental Health provides funding; voters approved a proposition to offer more financial help for the Mental Health Services Act.

Referred to as “Laura’s Law,” Yolo County provides court-assisted outpatient treatment called AOT for those who cannot live safely alone without supervision and treatment. Many individuals with severe mental illness willingly take part in the service. Laura’s Law is California’s adaptation of a highly successful New York program called Kendra’s Law, used to help those who have severe bipolar disorder or live with untreated schizophrenia

As of year-end in 2018, California is an official Mental Health Care Professional Shortage Area, with about 70% of its total mental health care needs unmet. To remove the designation, California needs 433 new mental health practitioners.