After working closely with and getting to know my new friends, this service is greatly needed for a few of them! Let me be clear, a FEW of them, not all of them. In fact, I was supposed to take someone to Journey Mental Health this morning, but it was a long shot they would get accepted and they freaked out on everyone last night and are not currently talking to me – mostly cuz they lost their phone and they are homeless and I can’t easily reach them. If you ask me, this is some of the best spent money . . . it will really help a few folks!
Free Mental Health Services to Begin in August
County Board Chair McDonell and County Executive Parisi Announce Contract to Provide Resource Bridge for Those in Need
Dane County Board Chairman Scott McDonell today announced that a consortium of five local service agencies, led by Journey Mental Health Services, will operate Resource Bridge, an emergency mental health clinic for those in need.
The Resource Bridge program, to begin work in August, will provide recovery-focused mental health services to those most in need, bridging the gap until longer term services can be established. Services will include psychiatry, medication assistance, mental health and substance abuse assessment, case management, peer support, work, benefit counseling and linkage to other longer term supports and services. The program will be located at 625 West Washington Avenue.
“Providing our most vulnerable populations with mental health services is a smart investment in the long run,” said McDonell. “People in crisis who go without services end up in emergency rooms or jail cells, and that costs us all more in the long run.”
The Resource Bridge will be able to provide services for up to 75 people at a time. Services will be provided to adult Dane County residents with serious and persistent mental health issues. People will be referred by other County agencies such as the Crisis Unit, Care Centers, Crisis Stabilization Unit, and Detoxification Center.
“This Resource Bridge is an important new partnership that will be a vital link to mental health and substance abuse resources for those in our community who may be in crisis or close to a crisis,” said Parisi. “By offering this bridge we are enhancing the excellent services we currently provide to help those most in need to achieve long-term recovery and success.”
Joining Journey Mental Health Services on the Resource Bridge project are SOAR Case Management Services/Recovery Dane, Inc.; Chrysalis; Employment Resources, Inc.; and Madison Area Urban Ministry. The County will provide $150,000 to operate the program through December 2012, after which it will have an allocation of $250,000 per year.
