Community Mental Health access "literally saving lives" in Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County Community Mental Health (WCCMH) serves Washtenaw County's behavioral health needs through two programs: the Access/Crisis team fields calls for persons needing assistance accessing mental health, intellectual/developmental disability, youth and family services and substance use disorder services, while the Mental Health/Public Safety Millage Service Expansion provides mental health care and services through its CARES program, across the county, for individuals that need it.
In 2017, Washtenaw County voters passed a mental health and public safety millage. Prior to the passing of this millage, WCCMH could only provide services to people who had Medicaid. Programs developed with millage funds have allowed the county to expand the services it can provide to people of all ages, regardless of insurance. Goals of the program included:
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- Provide crisis prevention care, crisis response services, and accessible services to all of Washtenaw County
- Expand services to rural communities
- Develop longer term crisis stabilization services
- Provide prevention and community education and training
- Expanded social workers and mental health services for schools
- Advocate for juvenile justice
- Promote affordable housing
- Provide safe and affordable access
The eight-year millage has completed its first three years of operation and goes through 2026.
This is the simple, official explanation ... but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes, according to Lisa Gentz, Program Administrator for WCCMH.
Lisa Gentz, and Sgt. Derrick Jackson, Director of Community Engagement for WCSO. (photo courtesy Washtenaw County)
"We have a Mobile Crisis Response Team that is available to anyone in the county who is having a mental health or drug abuse crisis," Gentz explains. "This team consists of master clinicians and social workers, who go out into the community and also co-respond with law enforcement. We have a strong partnership with WCSO; when we received the millage in 2019, we were able to expand that team as well as create a mental health treatment team for anyone in Washtenaw County, to get access to mental health care, regardless of their insurance status.
"What we wanted was to be able to reach the more rural, western communities," she continues. "We actually had CARES clinicians who spent time in person at the (Manchester Village) offices, and prior to COVID, they were there with the deputies. Through these partnerships we saw an increase of requests from law enforcement, they call our team when they encounter someone needing mental health services and we can follow up with the individual."
When deputies respond to a scene, if they feel there is a crisis situation, the Mobile Crisis Team can meet the person in crisis where they are. The team will assess the situation, determine individual needs, provide access to extended care, and coordinate with the individual to get them access to care.
"We're not only a crisis response, but we can connect persons to a higher level of care, along with longer term support as needed," Gentz explains.
Although the millage vote actually passed in 2017, funds didn't start to be received till May of 2019, which is when the county expanded MCT and started the CARES team. So for a little more than two years, these programs have been in place ... but then in March 2020, COVID-19 hit. The CARES office in Manchester Village Hall was no longer manned on a regular basis but the services they could provide to residents were still available, even if somewhat remotely.
"Thankfully we already had some established relationships before COVID," Gentz said. "But at that point we had to transition our care model; we are still prioritizing co-response with law enforcement as the most urgent and severe need. We were, obviously, doing more remote work but still had to do some face-to-face encounters in crisis situations. And we were literally saving lives ... and that really is fantastic.
"What we have heard from community and partners in law enforcement it has given them an avenue to get people connected and address a long-term solution. Law enforcement only has certain tools in their tool box; our services have helped keep them from having to respond to the same calls over and over."
Nikki Muraca, Access/Crisis Supervisor for the 24-Hour Crisis Team, shared a little bit about how the CARES team works with those in need of mental health or substance abuse services.
"Essentially what we aim to do, is field calls from anywhere, about someone in our community, going through any type of crisis," Muraca said. "It could be as simple as, 'my child is refusing medication and I need your help,' or as severe and risky as law enforcement calling us to come because someone's barricaded with a weapon, and we need to talk to them."
The CARES team responds to it all, she continues: "We partner with law enforcement as needed due to risk level, but that's only about 10-15% of the outreaches we do. Many people we encounter are calling with suicidal thoughts, and trying to keep themselves safe. We make verbal contracts, have conversations face to face, meet them where they're at, and help them decide what happens next."
The CARES team can help a caller determine whether they're safe at home, and what can be put into place to make sure that continues. Whether it's a contract to see a therapist, or seeking out med changes, what can the person do, and what can the CARES team do? "We can make phone calls for them or with them, and provide them with wellness calls," Muraca explains. "If you don't have a phone, we can come and meet with you in the community. Do we need to talk to someone at the hospital? Do we need to get you to a safe space? There's also an engagement center, a 23-hour center that takes you out of your environment, for people who have recently used drugs or alcohol. They have resources there to help with substance abuse issues."
Basically, Muraca explains, by creating CARES and expanding the Crisis Team expanding, the county has been able to fill a huge gap, a "grey area."
"A lot of people feel like it's an all-or-nothing proposition," she says. "It's like, I'm either at home and struggling or I need to go to the hospital. But actually, there's a whole in between grey area, where it seems like to be too drastic to go to ER. That's where we can fill the gap, be the middle man, and take a look at the grey area to really tease out do we need that next step, or are there other options? And that grey area is what saves lives."
Both Gentz and Muraca stress that the CARES Team and the Mobile Crisis Team are available around the clock, pandemic or no pandemic, rain or shine, to help those in need of mental health or substance abuse services. The telephone number for the crisis management team is 734-544-3050 or 800-440-7548. Or visit https://www.washtenaw.org/1236/Mental-Health.
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Washtenaw County Community Mental Health (WCCMH) is proud to serve Washtenaw County.
We offer two programs to help our community in their behavioral health needs.
Our Access/Crisis team fields calls for persons needing assistance accessing mental health, intellectual/developmental disability, youth and family services and substance use disorder services.
The Mental Health/Public Safety Millage Service Expansion also provides care and services for individuals that need care that are not receiving Medicaid through our CARES program.
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