Southeastern Center for Mental Health funds declining

Funds are declining for the Southeastern Center for Mental Health to the point of what several professionals are calling a crisis. Many disabled patients may lose services by the end of this month and the situation is not sitting well with care providers and patients.

Concerned patients and affiliates of the mental health system in the area met today for the second time to discuss how to get funding back and avoid losing valuable mental health services. The director from the Division of Mental Health was there answering questions, and hearing concerns. Many of the people in attendance called this funding issue a state of emergency.

“My daughter has lost four providers within the past six to eight weeks, and she goes through some trauma, literally, for a week afterward, where she is crying, and keeps on talking about it, and it is distracted,” said Horst Schultz, who has two children with Down syndrome.

Due to the funding crisis, Southeastern Mental Health is no longer accepting any new referrals for families who qualify for developmental disability services.

Many families of disabled patients expressed the concern and fear that their child or family member may have to be institutionalized because there is no more space at the mental health clinic. The Division of Mental Health is looking into all options to try and allocate funds to our region that is suffering the most in the entire state.