Mental Health Collaborative weaves safety net made to last

It's often a crisis that pushes people to seek mental health professionals.

But even after these emergencies have been alleviated, many patients need ongoing treatment in order to remain healthy, productive members of society.

The Mental Health Collaborative of Indian River County was founded to marshal forces already available in our community to make the quest for care much easier – and more effective.

MHC started in 2005 as a partnership between the United Way of Indian River County, the Indian River County Hospital District, and The Robert F. and Eleonora W. McCabe Foundation, along with the County Commission, the Indian River Medical Center, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, the Vero Beach Police Department, and the state's Department of Children and Families Services.

The Collaborative was created to work with schools, law enforcement, hospitals, emergency medical services and the court system to identify mental health in the community and formulate ways to work together to improve mental health services.

It now boasts approximately 25 individual and organizations, and last year it became a registered nonprofit entity.

Its roster of private and public funders, mental health providers and concerned individuals work together to increase access, decrease duplication of services and facilitate community-wide support.

"That's really the vision of MHC," says MHC Executive Director Brett Hall.

According to the Collaborative's website: "We are here to provide a seamless delivery of mental health services unlike any other in the state of Florida. The Collaborative seeks to engage and build trust among individuals, funders, government agencies, law enforcement and mental health providers to transform the continuum of care into an effective system. The vision of the Collaborative is succeeding because of the inclusive, cross-sector approach adopted by its founders and members."

Making Connections

The McCabe Foundation, steadfastly committed to improving mental health care in Indian River County the past 15 years, remains an active supporter. According to the foundation's Executive Director Lenora Ritchie, "At the last Board of Directors meeting, we made a significant grant to help launch the new Connections Center of the MHC."

The Connections Center, which will open in the next few weeks, will be the central access point for mental health and substance abuse support. It will be a place where members of the Collaborative can engage with people who are having difficulty gaining access to needed mental-health services in the community. The Center will provide them with a plan and contacts for the affiliates that can help them manage their mental well being. The McCabe Foundation was also a key player in one of MHC's earlier efforts: supporting judge Cynthia Cox of the Circuit 19th Court and Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar to create Indian River County's Mental Health Court, which opened in early 2015.

Cox had extensive experience with St. Lucie County's Mental Health Court, where she discovered the program was not only effective for individuals with mental illnesses but that thetreatment also benefitted the community and taxpayers.

Justice served

The court hears the cases of offenders who have been identified as having a mental illness, including many veterans and people who are known as "frequent fliers" – individuals who repeatedly find themselves in criminal court because they don't have access to the tools, programs and benefits they need to overcome a mental illness.

According to Cox, the criminal justice system is an expensive and inadequate way to treat these individuals.

"There were too many cases coming in front of the court as 'incompetent to proceed' or 'not guilty by reason of insanity.' And then the individuals would be (put) under conditional release and turned over to the Department of Children and Family Services to manage from there," she said. "We needed to do more."

She fought long and hard to bring the program to Indian River County, where she makes her home.

"When St. Lucie County had a problem with overcrowding in their jail, they realized they needed to step up and do something. That's how it started for me," said Cox. "I wanted the same for Indian River. This is my county. I live here and we needed to step up and address the issue, and get rid of the stigma that so many have about mental illness."

Next steps

But providing a system for identifying individuals who are in need of help was just the beginning. Now MHC is focused on making sure that treatment, which the court requires offenders to undergo, is easy to access for as long as it takes to fulfill their debt to society – and beyond.

"Look at this way," Loar said. "You have Jane Doe who is a successful citizen, has money in her wallet, a job, however she has this manic need to shoplift jewelry. She could easily afford it and lands in jail. That doesn't make her a threat to society or a violent criminal. Yet, taking care of her costs the jail and taxpayers hundreds of dollars.

"She simply needs programs and treatment to control those impulses. This is what the MHC will provide."

For more information, contact The Mental Health Collaborative of Indian River County at 772-217-3663 or visit their website at www.mhcollaborative.org.