The True Cost of Untreated Mental Illness

It costs Koch Industries $700 million each year world-wide. Spirit pays $127 million for it annually right here in Wichita. Textron skates by losing only $65 million to it every year. What is this nefarious thing that costs Wichita nearly 6 percent of our city’s potential GDP every year? It’s untreated mental illness. And it’s getting worse.

Contrary to what you might think, these astronomical figures are not a result of employees calling in sick due to their anxiety disorder. Nor are they due to employee theft to support a drug habit. The vast majority of these dollars are lost as a result of employees who continue coming in to work each day in spite of a mental illness because they don’t want their supervisors or co-workers to know they live with mental health concerns. This habit of hiding mental illness in the shadows has created an atmosphere which exacerbates the stigma and the social and professional costs to our community, making it that much less likely that people you care about will ask for help.

But there is an answer. As a non-profit, the Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas offers most of our programs for children, adults, families, seniors, veterans and more at no cost. We provide free educational speakers for churches, corporate lunch-and-learns, and civic and fraternal organizations at no cost as well. And our therapists are available without referral from a primary care doctor simply by filling out intake paperwork at MHASCK.org. The situation is clear. Continue the status quo, losing millions of dollars annually, or invest a fraction of that amount to get a 400 percent return by supporting our programs throughout the region.

To learn how to be a part of the solution, call our development office at 316.651.1241.