Mental health topic of discussion at chamber luncheon
Mental health needs and Services in Shelby County was the topic of the Sept. 5 Chamber Connections Luncheon held at the First Baptist Church of Columbiana. The Honorable Allison S. Boyd, Shelby County Probate Judge and Daphne Kendrick, Mental Illness Adult Division Director for Chilton Shelby Mental Health conducted a presentation highlighting the prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse in Shelby County and what is being done to help.
Boyd, who assumed the position of Shelby Co Probate Judge in January 2019 had previously spent 10 years in the Shelby County District Attorney’s office before joining the Probate Judge’s office in 2016 where she served as legal counsel. She said that mental health is one of the issues facing our communities that we don’t have enough information about.
“Unless you are dealing with it personally, it’s not something at the forefront of your mind,” she said. “But as soon as a friend, family member or even yourself is affected, it hits you like a ton of bricks and you don’t know where the resources are when you’re in this crisis.”
Boyd compared seeking help for mental health just as you would for physical health. She said the first thing we can do is to get past the stigma is to look at the prevalence of mental illness in our community.
She shared that 43.8 million people in the United States suffer from some form of mental illness, then broke it down locally. The 2018 Shelby County population was 215,707, so around 43,000 people in Shelby County experience some form of mental illness. As for serious mental illness, it affects one in 25, which would be around 9,000 in our community. In the prison system, Boyd said 20% of state prisoners and 21% of county inmates suffer from mental illness.
“In the first six months of 2019, there were 3,120 adults booked into the Shelby County Jail,” Boyd said. “744 of them were positive for mental illness and or substance abuse issues. 295 wellness assessments were completed, of those, 226 resulted in mental illness treatment needs and 80 resulted in substance abuse treatment needs.”
Daphne Kendrick is the Adult Mental Illness Director of Chilton Shelby Mental Health Center, which is a nonprofit that provides services for mental illness or substance abuse disorders shared that according to the Alabama Department Of Public Health, Alabamians identified mental health and substance as the second greatest health concern in Alabama.
Kendrick also discussed the recently implemented Stepping Up Initiative, which includes the following aspects:
- Programs to redirect those living with mental illnesses to treatment centers and connect incarcerated individuals with mental illnesses to services to help break the cycle of rearrest
- Increased collaboration between mental health and substance abuse treatment centers, law enforcement, local jails and local hospitals
- Provide case managers to help local partners identify and communicate those with mental illness and to help them get the services and treatment they most need.
By continuing to invest in these efforts, Kendrick said that benefits would include increased treatment for individuals living with mental illness, more efficient use of public funds, less strain on jails and law enforcement and a healthier community.
The next Chamber Connections Luncheon will be Shelby County Tourism & Recreation All Star Awards on Oct. 3 at Old Mill Square in Columbiana.