Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Health
is more than physical well-being. People’s emotional and mental states can have
wide-ranging effects on those around them and the community. Costs for
addiction and treatment affect everyone in the City of Racine. Citizens who do
not get help or treatment can cause physical, emotional, and economic harm to
others through the commission of crimes, suicide, or other actions. Determining the best use of limited resources
can have impacts on reducing the rates of mental health and substance
abuse issues. This section contains information on unhealthy habits and mental health
concerns.
Alcohol
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and County Rankings
Excessive drinking reflects the percent of adults
binge-drinking (males having five or more drinks on one occasion; females having
four or more drinks on one occasion) and/or drinking heavily (women having more
than one drink per day; men having more than two drinks per day, on average). At 30%, the City of Racine and Racine County have a higher percentage of the population that reports excessive drinking than the State of Wisconsin and the U.S.
Tobacco
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control, 2017 Racine City Community Health Survey, and 2017 Central Racine County Community Health Survey
Approximately 18% of Racine County's adult population uses some form of tobacco products, which is higher than Racine County, the State of Wisconsin and the United States. Other tobacco products include smokeless tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, pipes, and e-cigarettes ("vaping").
Sources: 2017 Racine City Community Health Survey Report, 2017 Central Racine County Community Health Survey Report, and Centers for Disease Control.
In 2017, 50% of tobacco smokers in the City of Racine reported they attempted to quit for at least 24 hours during the previous year, which is a higher proportion than all of the other regions.
Sources: 2017 Racine City Community Health Survey Report, 2017 Central Racine Community Health Survey Report, and Centers for Disease Control.
While the City of Racine has the highest percentage of the population reporting exposure to secondhand smoke in 2017 (19%), it is much lower than the United States, where 25% of people reported being exposed.
Addiction Problems in the Home
Source: 2017 Racine City Community Health Survey Report
During 2017, less than one percent of City of Racine residents reported someone in the home having a problem with alcohol, drug use/abuse, or gambling.
Mental Health Status
Sources: 2020 Racine County Community Health Survey
In 2020 there was an increase in people who reported they find meaning and purpose in daily life seldom/never and considered suicide in the past year while feelings of depression and sadness remained unchanged.
Suicide
Sources: Racine County Medical Examiner, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and American Society for Suicide Prevention
The City of Racine's suicide rate has been low in comparison to the state and country's rate, which have been pretty consistently around 1.4 for the last decade. However, 2019 and 2020's data has not yet been released for the city, but the County's rate has risen back above the state and county's.