An effort in 2014 to cut cost on the city’s water supply in flint led to a crisis that exposed almost 100,000 people to lead-contaminated water. It also possibly contributed to a deadly outbreak of severe pneumonia.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina surveyed people who lived in flint during the crisis, finding that five years later, nearly one in four met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. And more than one in five met criteria for depression, numbers that are a lot higher than the rest of the U.S..
That means that in flint, more than 20-thousand residents may have had depression and 25,000 may have had PTSD after the crisis.
Despite these numbers, only about one in three reported they were offered help for their mental health.
This study shows that mental health can be negatively impacted even years after a crisis and that the flint community may still have a large unmet need for mental health care.
Talk to your doctor if you are worried about your mental health or call or text the crisis lifeline at 988 if you experience a mental health emergency.
