These are the Barriers to Affordable and Accessible Mental Health Resources in Athens

Illustration by Lainey Douglas

Jessica Rutkowski

One in five adults experience mental illness in the United States, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and no part of the country is excluded. Many residents throughout the U.S. have been or will be affected by mental illness.

Thanks to outspoken voices and national campaigns regarding mental healthcare, awareness about and advocacy for the issue have rapidly increased in recent years. But despite the growing societal awareness of the importance of mental health in the U.S., 74% of Americans do not believe such services are accessible for everyone according to the National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH) 2018 study.

And they’re right.

Although mental health issues affect all areas of the country, rural, impoverished areas like Athens County often have a disproportionately harder time receiving mental healthcare.

The Athens-Hocking-Vinton Mental Health & Recovery Board is among several mental health resources available to Athens County residents and is affiliated with more than 20 organizations in the area, providing services such as subsidized housing, resources to escape domestic violence and peer support.

Despite those organizations in Athens and its surrounding community, there are still many barriers to getting people the help they need.

“Our focus is on either a mental health issue or an addiction issue,” says Earl Cecil, executive director of the Athens-Hocking-Vinton Mental Health & Recovery Board. “[But], that’s not to say people don’t have ... a whole litany of issues that need addressed.”

Tina Trimmer, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Athens County, agrees about the inevitable struggles of people with mental health issues. She says it can be challenging to go to work or find a job in the first place.

“It’s the upkeep things in life that go to the wayside,” Trimmer says.

Those struggles can create a snowball effect in each person's life, eventually leading to the harsh reality of the high cost and insufficient insurance coverage for treatment. According to the NCBH, one in four Americans reported having to choose between paying for mental health treatment and purchasing daily necessities, such as food, hygiene products and gas.

“I hate to say that money is the answer, but money is the answer,” Trimmer says, “We just need more money.”

Trimmer, who recently moved back to Athens County for her job after living in Athens sporadically for the past 20 years, opened up about her own struggles in attempting to receive treatment for her mental health, including the cost of treatment and lack of coverage.

“I was fortunate to go to college ... and [the system] to access benefits like Medicaid is nearly impossible to navigate for me, let alone someone who can’t read, or can’t get to the office to ask questions or doesn’t have a phone,” Trimmer says. “It’s a whirlwind nightmare.”

Not only are the costs high and the systems hard to navigate, but there is an insufficient number of mental healthcare professionals in regions like Athens, so even those who can afford treatment might have a hard time being connected with services.

Trimmer experienced those problems firsthand when living in Athens in the early 2010s.

“There wasn’t a single psychiatrist in this town. Not one,” Trimmer says. “I had to personally drive to Columbus to see a psychiatrist ... it’s not practical.”

Trimmer is not alone. Approximately 46% of Americans had or know someone who has had to drive more than an hour total when seeking treatment, according to NCBH.

“Not everybody wants to live in Southeastern Ohio in a small town, especially someone who’s gone through medical school and is hoping to probably pay back those loans that they’ve incurred,” Trimmer says.

According to the Rural Health Information Hub’s website, those shortages are happening in rural communities nationwide, which means limited options and longer wait times, causing 96 million Americans to experience waiting longer than one week for treatments.

Ohio University students have been affected by such shortages, frequently experiencing long wait times at Hudson Health Services.

As the cycle continues, the lack of healthcare professionals in Athens then leads to the next issue: lack of transportation. Since access to face-to-face services is even more critical for those seeking treatment, people like Trimmer have no other choice than to travel long distances to get the help they need.

Unfortunately for some residents in Southeast Ohio, this is not always feasible.

“A lot of people don’t have reliable transportation ... or they don’t have the money to pay for it,” Cecil says.“[Especially] when people are in the depths of a mental health crisis or something that’s been going on for a long time.”

Those who struggle with mental illness will only face those obstacles if they feel empowered and choose to seek helping the first place, which is not always the case.

Despite many attempts at reducing the stigma surrounding mental health, it still remains. Nearly one-third of Americans have worried about others judging them when they told them they have sought mental health services, according to the NCBH. “[Many people think,] ‘You know, if my husband would just suck it up with his problems and be a man...’ and I don’t know why,” Cecil says. “I mean, if we have stomach pain, we don’t seem to say, ‘Well, don’t go to the doctor, just deal with it!’”

Even once the stigma is broken, one thing remains: public awareness. Although Cecil says the visibility of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) is better than ever before, he admits there is still much work to be done.

“We have never in over thirty years cracked this,” Cecil says.

“We just had a discussion with a gentleman a few weeks ago, and he said, ‘I just didn’t know all this was available.’ We do things on the radio, in the newspapers, here, there, but until someone recognizes they have a need, we just do not seem to be available.”

If you or someone you know would like to be connected to a treatment facility, please visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations database of state-licensed providers for more information.