Posted 12:15 am Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Proposed Bills In Austin Could Cut Mental Health Services Funding
By JAMES WATERSON
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Proposed bills in the Texas Legislature, which may be voted on next week, could cut funding from state programs and reduce mental health services by as much as 20 percent.
In East Texas, that means a reduction of $4 million, and it could be a reduction of services for as many as 1,600 people, said Valerie Holcomb, Andrews Center Behavioral Healthcare System forensic division director.
"Both bills would be devastating to the mental health services," Ms. Holcomb said.
With a potential change in funds looming, members of the East Texas mental health community, including family members of people with mental illnesses and The National Alliance on Mental Illness, met Tuesday night to discuss the possible effects if the two bills pass.
They're concerned, Ms. Holcomb said, because the less money these services have, the fewer people they can help, which may cause problems for many other areas of society, such as the jail system.
"History tells us that when you don't treat someone with a mental illness, they may end up in jail," she said.
Not only does that put more people in jail, but it's more expensive to keep them there compared to treating them in a mental hospital: it costs $12 per day to treat someone on an outpatient basis in a mental hospital, while it costs $137 per day to house a psychiatric patient in jail, she said.
There also is a link between chronic homelessness and reductions in funding and treatment for people with mental illnesses, said Christina Fulsom, People Attempting To Help executive director.
Mrs. Fulsom added that she expects the number of people coming to PATH for help to continue to increase over the next few years, and if funding for mental services is cut, then it may force the nonprofit organization to cut some of its programs.
Although the lack of services could have a big effect on other areas of society, they're even more critical for the people who are affected by mental illnesses, said Mildred Witte, mother of a 34-year-old son who began showing symptoms of schizophrenia 10 years ago.
"Anyone who is mentally ill has got to have these services," Mrs. Witte said. "It's not humane not to treat an illness, and it will actually save the county money."
