In-home stress and violence are the top concerns for Butte County, according to preliminary results of an annual survey of residents and service providers. The survey was conducted by the county’s department of behavioral health and helps guide the spending of state funds the county receives as part of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA).
“… the family conflict and the stress on the family when you don’t have access to services or you don’t know where to start, it just exacerbates.”- Amy Diamatine, Northern Valley Catholic Social Services mental health director
Concerns over stress and violence haven’t been this high before.
Last year, suicide was the main concern for both young people and adults. While suicide remains a serious issue in the county, rates have declined in recent years. Now, other challenges are surfacing as top priorities.
This year, family conflict and stress were the highest ranking issues facing young people. Domestic violence was the highest for adults.
“We can assume that this is reflecting what they see in the population that they're serving,” said Sam Casale, MHSA coordinator for the county’s behavioral health department.
According to its latest Community Health Assessment, Butte County residents are more likely than the average Californian to call for assistance with domestic violence. The shift in survey results also comes after two homicides linked to domestic violence last month, raising concern over community awareness about the issue and availability of prevention and support services — the very kinds of programs MHSA funding is meant to bolster.
Service providers speak up
The survey had 250 respondents. Many were stakeholders — like Northern Valley Catholic Social Services (NVCSS) — who provide services using the state funds.
NVCSS offers mental health care through various wellness programs. Amy Diamatine, the organization’s director of mental health, said the high concern in the survey for in-home issues reflects what they’re seeing in their work, particularly as more people face challenges like substance use, depression, suicide and domestic violence.
“There's a direct relationship there. So as those things increase, the family conflict and the stress on the family when you don't have access to services or you don't know where to start, it just exacerbates.”
“If we do not as a community and as a society as a whole invest in prevention, we're going to keep repeating ourselves. We have got to make deep, deep and lasting investments in our prevention work.”- Anastacia Snyder, Catalyst Domestic Violence Services executive director
A lack of access to resources is also a concern for others in the field. Colleen Phipps, president of NAMI Butte County, which offers support groups and programs for people with mental illness, said there are many issues that get in the way of people receiving care locally.
She calls the current process of help “a runaround” and hopes accessibility is prioritized to prevent family and partner stress and violence from the start.
“There's no one place that they can just go to get help for their question. It's very frustrating,” Phipps said. “Especially … when this is a first time mental health issue and illness. They are just throwing up their hands.”
Anastacia Snyder, executive director of Catalyst Domestic Violence Services, said the survey results tell her that in-home conflicts are a significant problem.She said Butte County residents should be paying attention and noted that prevention services are key.
“If we do not as a community and as a society as a whole invest in prevention, we're going to keep repeating ourselves,” Snyder said. “We have got to make deep, deep and lasting investments in our prevention work.”
What’s next
The draft of the survey results will go to the county’s board of supervisors in June for approval. Until then, Casale said the department is still assessing the information.
“Where we are at now in regards to these results is looking at them as an executive team and looking at them as an MHSA team in preparation for what we would do in the new fiscal year.”
Casale said his team is looking at priorities and laying the groundwork for the next steps.
“We can't really do more than have discussions and have a little bit of planning about where we might want to go, should this be approved,” he said.
