Agenda - 12-15-2009 - 3b - Laserfiche WebLink

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40 MENTAL HEALTH TASK FORCE REPORT The new $12 million will increase the number of beds to 175, said Lanier Cansler, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services. "The concept of trying to have enough beds to keep people in the community is a solid concept," he said. "The goal is "having the beds at the community hospital where people don't have to travel across three or four counties to get care." Club Nova faces immediate challenge Sep 1D; 2009 News lump to Comments By Taylor Sisk Staff Writer-Carrboro Citizen North Carolina Speaker of the House Joe Hackney's Wednesday morning visit to Club Nova in Carrboro was a social call, astop-in by invitation of club members to hear how things are going. Not that he wasn't already aware, but what Hackney heard was that Club Nova faces some tenuous times in the immediate future, and that it soon may have to turn out some clients with no alternative services in sight. Club Nova operates under a clubhouse model designed to promote rehabilitation and reintegration into the community for individuals living with mental illness. In the best of times, it struggles financially to get by. But with the cuts made to mental health services in the new state budget, times are growing harder still. In 2006, clubhouse services were reclassified as enhanced services, which means that for Club Nova to continue to receive state and federal funding its members are required to receive community support services. But the new state budget called for the phasing out of community support services by June of next year. These services include assistance with such everyday activities as paying bills, shopping for groceries and picking up medications. This leaves Club Nova in a predicament. Club director Karen Dunn said that two steering commitees comprised of state officials and other stakeholders are trying to develop a plan that may help keep people in clubhouses such as Club Nova. But nothing is known for certain. And if a solution isn't found, Dunn will have to begin discharging clients in December. Hackney expressed his support for Club Nova. "It's a great program," he said. "The staff is very committed and is dedicated to getting through this difficult period.... "I'm hopeful they can survive this and come out the other side so we can get them properly funded, because they certainly aren't now." Club Nova has been allocated $99,000 in the state budget, but Dunn isn't counting that money until it's in hand. She received $75,000 for the coming year from Orange County's human services grant and $100,000 through the county's mental health local management entity, the latter having been cut 50 percent from last year. The club has been bringing in between $90,000 and $140,000 in private funds, but, as Dunn points out, those dollars are more difficult to come by these days. "We're still here," Dunn said, "and that's pretty amazing. It's just been an ongoing onslaught of bad news." The decision to eliminate community support services baffles her. 38