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Polk County has launched the Polk County Behavioral Health Resources website, aimed at connecting residents to behavioral resources, including mental health and substance-user services, across the county.
Why this matters: Roughly one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. Among students, the need is also rising, with over 180,000 Floridians ages 12-17 experiencing depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
17% of adults in Polk reported poor mental health on 14+ days in a month in 2022.
30% of Polk County middle/high school students reported persistent sadness or feelings of hopelessness.
What the site offers: It has a directory of behavioral health providers across Polk County.
It has blog posts from local experts on health topics.
It shows statistics and access gaps in a visual dashboard.
It includes links to food, housing, transit and health insurance support.
A starting point: The website is intended to be a portal for individuals seeking resources for themselves or for friends, or for family members trying to find help for a loved one.
“There is nothing as unbearable as seeing a person suffer and knowing that there may be a resource available,” said Holly Vida, the county’s behavioral health program manager.
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.
