Tim Aldrich, an attorney with the 6th Judicial District Attorney's Office, was one of many who spoke at the committee of officials, expressing community concerns about the ongoing behavioral health crisis and the local response. That drew a crowd to last Tuesday's meeting.
Written by Joe Lutz
daily press staff
Two gatherings were held last week so that stakeholders and the public could voice their opinions on the national behavioral health crisis and hear about upcoming milestones to address this issue in Grant County. it was done.
At the first meeting last Tuesday, convened by District 4 Silver City Councilman Guadalupe Cano and Grant County Commission Chairman Chris Ponce, members of the public addressed a panel of elected officials and providers. . Dan Otero, CEO of one of those providers, Hidalgo Medical Services, said his company's Tu Casa Treatment Center expanded its services in March and is now open to inpatients 24/7. It is planned to become a mental crisis triage center providing services.
At the second meeting convened by the Center for Health Innovation on Thursday, CHI Executive Director Stacey Cox said a fully updated map of Grant County's mental health resources is being completed and will be published on the website in February. announced that it was planned. Mr Cox also said the results of the health council's needs assessment survey would be available in January.
Mr. Otero summed up Tu Casa's struggle to open a crisis triage center under stricter regulations, which required a wide range of staff to be available 24 hours a day. When the center finally opened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility expected one patient every three days, rather than the three patients per day that had been the baseline for financial modeling. provided services to patients. The crisis triage center was forced to close, and since then HMS and other stakeholders have been working with the state to devise a new model that provides many of the same services but is more sustainable for communities with smaller populations. .
About a month and a half ago, the state issued emergency regulations that allow for lower staffing levels at emergency triage centers, including having more health care providers on call. Otero announced that as of Wednesday morning, he has a commitment from the state to abide by the fees calculated based on his previous license. He hopes to recruit staff and expect Tu Casa to be able to offer mental health and addiction services 24 hours a day in March.
“It's been a difficult few years for us, recognizing that there is a need out there,” Otero said. “We've been looking at ways to make our business model work, so this is really positive news.”
Cox also acknowledged that working in mental health care can be exhausting and assured attendees that progress is being made. She said that in a survey of behavioral health providers, respondents reported feeling “frustrated, demoralized and exhausted.”
“If you're having this conversation about behavioral health, you might feel the same way,” Cox said. “We may feel hopeless, like there's nothing we can do. But there's a lot we can do.”
She distributed illustrations based on feedback from providers about the different types of services available in the southwestern part of the state, highlighting strengths and service gaps, such as medical detox.
“We want to look at the big picture, because when we talk about it, nobody has that map, nobody has that system,” Cox said.
Participants at the CHI conference divided into topic groups and used colorful markers to brainstorm solutions. This was in contrast to the format of last Tuesday night's meeting, where 17 people signed on to the committee, including elected officials from the town of Silver City, to voice their concerns. , county, state, mining community. Unlike official government meetings, officials were allowed to respond.
Several residents who spoke at previous government meetings repeatedly complained about the location of the SPIN emergency shelter in Brewer Hill, saying homeless shelter users were interfering with residents.
District 2 County Commissioner and Gila Regional Medical Center EMS Director Eloy Medina sidestepped commentators' moralizing comments about drug users, saying the rise in drug use in Grant County has led to the underlying mentality of first responders. He stressed that it has become very difficult to assess the situation.
Several people complained about what they called “catch and release,” a term in which people arrested for disorderly conduct or property crimes are not jailed and, in some cases, repeat offenses. One woman spoke of her fears for her mentally ill daughter. Her daughter had been in and out of prison, and she also had substance abuse problems, she said. She said her daughter assaulted her family and was arrested and charged, but she was released without posting her bail.
District Attorney Michael Renteria wants to make it easier to detain criminals, but judges will make decisions based primarily on the level of violence and the amount of evidence of the crime they're being accused of. said. He also proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit the setting of bail on equity grounds, a progressive measure that would correct the discriminatory effects of releasing those who can pay bail but detaining those who cannot afford it. He also mentioned bail bond reform.
Renteria argued that the pendulum needs to swing back from protecting constitutional freedoms to ensuring communities, and encouraged those in attendance to speak with their legislators.
“Sometimes you want to be in control of the keys to the prison,” Renteria said. “I have no control over the keys to the prison.”
Tim Aldrich, a former district judge and current attorney for the DA's office, has stood up and said that although they are having a hard time keeping people in custody, the DA's office under the Renteria administration received far more subsidies than under the previous administration. He added that he uses it and spends some of it on things like: Mental health intervention.
Aldrich detailed to the Daily Press that as an alternative to the legal process, the DA has launched several diversion programs that allow eligible offenders to receive probation and connect with services that can help prevent recidivism. .
Aretha Amundson asked what was being done in terms of prevention, and the committee's less-than-stubborn response was later taken up by private advisor Waldo Winborn, who commented. He was disturbed by the long silence.
“Working with children and addressing trauma has been my life's work,” Winborn said. “Our first responders, you know what I'm saying? When you arrive and the kids are there, they're supposed to be crying, but they're not crying. They don't want help anymore. Who do you think will be the next generation with this problem?”
Silver Consolidated Schools Assistant Superintendent Louis Alvarez took his turn to speak and asked for a win, not for a response from the committee, but for information about a recent $5 million grant to provide mental health services in the school system. I mentioned Vaughn's concerns.
Brian Stengel of the New Mexico Recovery Coalition reported data collected from street interviews showing that more people use stimulants than opiates, but a significant portion use both. It revealed that.
Henry Guerra suggested an employment program for the homeless, while Martha Blacklock wanted to consider alternative initial responses to arrest and incarceration.
Ponce, a co-sponsor of the conference, spoke at the end of the meeting.
“There were some points made,” he said. “Some of it is [addressing problems] Communication to let people know what's going on… Part of the meeting was an attempt to get some of these ideas out. …Every time you spend taxpayer money, you need a plan. ”
Patricia Cano attended both conferences and also organized previous presentations from Farmington service providers about innovative community responses to addiction.
He said the purpose of last Tuesday's meeting was to provide a forum for people to have a dialogue with their elected officials, not to come up with specific proposals.
“There is no solution, but we have to keep trying,” Patricia Cano said. “I know people are frustrated.”
She said the next step is to convene a smaller committee that represents all the different stakeholder groups, health care providers and civic leaders.
“I think we all need to come together,” she said. “We have a lot of people who care. We need to make a plan and then raise the funds.”
“The community is really becoming vocal,” Aldrich said. “I think we need to target everyone, from the homeless to the judges. We seem to be coming together and doing well, but we need real leadership and direction.”
Jo Lutz can be reached at [email protected].
