According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, approximately 20% of Americans experienced a mental illness in 2010, with 5% of cases severe enough to cause the person to experience interference in work, family, or school activities. The number is slightly higher for women and slightly lower for men. Mental illness is often unknown and untreated due to holes in health insurance coverage which do not consider mental health as important as 'physical' health, as well as stigma. Mental illness may also go undiscovered among people who are misusing substances or who have a disability which can either mask their mental illness or get in the way of the person receiving assistance. It is estimated that half of prison and jail inmates in the U.S. have a mental health problem. One fourth of all homeless persons have a severe mental health illness.
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/19/1-in-5-americans-suffer-from-mental-illness/
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