Mental illness is a preventable and treatable illness that affects a large number of people around the world, but disproportionately affects people of color and people living in poverty . Mental illness not only affects those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, but it also impacts those around the person, including family and friends. However, the impact does not stop there; it affects the whole of society on an economic and potentially social level. An estimated 450 million people suffer from mental illness worldwide; and one in four people will suffer from one or more mental illnesses during their lifetime (World Health Organization, 2007). This means that a quarter (25%) of people worldwide will have suffered from a mental illness at some point in their lives, but may have recovered from their mental illness. Additionally, the United States of America has the highest rate of lifetime mental health problems among 17 industrialized countries, according to an epidemiological study by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2007). ). Additional data shows that the United States has the second highest poverty rate among 21 wealthy countries, as well as significantly high rates of income and wealth inequality, which proves to be one of the factors in highest risk of mental health problems (Shea and Shern). , 2011, p. 5).How is the problem defined?The World Health Organization defines mental health as "a state of well-being in which each individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (2013). Contrary to this, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) defines...... middle of paper ...... a time in their life. The high levels of stress that many people experience in urban areas can exasperate any predisposition a person may have to mental illness. Many people in these communities experience high levels of stress due to an unsafe environment, discrimination, lack of employment, violence, and potential exposure to maladaptive coping mechanisms for stressors like substance use. This is especially true for many families who experience intergenerational transfer of symptoms where children of parents with mental health problems exhibit similar characteristics as the child of a depressed parent exhibiting depressive symptoms. This is also true for issues of discrimination. Beyond that, it is another stressor that is often perceived by children and can cause the child to feel these emotions as well as depression, anger or even opposition.