Oklahoma City's mental health system is overburdened and underutilized, according to a recent community needs assessment.
The assessment finds OKC has significant behavioral health service needs, characterized by surging numbers of people experiencing mental health and substance use problems and a treatment system hobbled by structural and resource deficits.
The report, prepared by the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, highlights Oklahoma City's resilience and growth, but argues high levels of poverty, housing instability and food insecurity are preventing tens of thousands of residents from accessing necessary care.
Adults living below 200% of the federal poverty level are projected to account for 44% of those with serious mental illness in Oklahoma City, despite making up 35% of the total population.
The report also found that the absence of robust community alternatives is leading to an overreliance on emergency and high-acuity settings, like emergency rooms or 911 calls.
"Oklahoma does a really good job when it comes to responding to things, but I think we need to use that same skill for preventative things. We don't need to wait until the floor falls out before we start making sure our foundation is solid," a stakeholder quoted in the report said.
More people still go to emergency rooms for mental health-related emergencies than to urgent recovery or crisis centers, the report found. Between 2019 and 2024, behavioral health-related ER visits among people in the safety-net behavioral health system rose by about 56%, while visits to urgent recovery or crisis remained steady.
This overuse indicates significant gaps in community-based prevention and crisis response programs, as ERs are often ill-equipped for mental health emergencies
Healthy Minds tracked a similar overreliance on emergency services among children and youth in Oklahoma City. The number of children receiving outpatient care in the state-funded system declined by 25% between 2019 and 2014, while youth ER visits climbed by about 19% during the same period.
Additionally, 38% of schools in the city are located within two-thirds of a mile from places that sell alcohol, but about a third are more than two miles from the nearest public park.
Data collected during the assessment revealed a lack of evidence-based substance use treatment in the city. Overdose deaths have nearly tripled since 2019 in the area, yet access to treatment has not matched community needs, the report said.
Among the estimated 15,000 residents in Oklahoma City with opioid use disorder, only about 4%, or 648 people, received medications for opioid use disorder, the evidence-based standard of care, through the city's core providers in 2024.
Oklahoma City community leaders have been advised to concentrate future strategic planning and investment on five priority areas: removing structural barriers to care, diverting residents to appropriate care settings, addressing gaps in intensive community-based services, investing in children and youth and ensuring residents' basic needs are met.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
