In just two weeks, a critical mental health resource in Burney will close, and though a solution is on the way, Shasta County officials predict implementing it could take months.
Due to state-level restructuring of the way mental health funds are allocated, the Burney-based mental health program, Circle of Friends Wellness Center, will close altogether on July 31. It is at least the second mental health program in the county to recently lose financial support following the state funding changes.
Numerous residents emotionally addressed the county Board of Supervisors at a July 14 meeting. They spoke of the importance of having the wellness center in such an isolated area of the county and pleaded with leaders to find stopgap funding to keep Circle of Friends open.
“Circle of Friends is one of the base foundations of Burney. We are a rural community. We do not have any collaboration from any other human resource agencies down there,” said a woman who identified herself only as Martina and a Circle of Friends client.
Supervisors Matt Plummer and Allen Long said they have been working to find a funding solution, but that could take anywhere from three to six months.
The issue, Plummer explained, lies in the fact that Circle of Friends is not eligible for funding under the Behavioral Health Services Act, a part of California’s Proposition 1. The program is eligible for state funding under California’s new BH-CONNECT program, but to do so it will need to to be revamped from a wellness center into a member-driven “clubhouse.”
This means Circle of Friends, whose nonprofit parent organization is Hill Country Community Clinic, will need a new contract with the county, a time-consuming process.
In the meantime, Circle of Friends will be without funding, forcing them to close their doors.
Clubhouse model a solution?
Hill Country CEO Jo Campbell told the Record Searchlight that Circle of Friends serves an average of 103 individuals each month.
Campbell said the program provides outreach services as well as group wellness and recovery for those with mental health struggles. It also serves as a community hub “providing two meals a day for those who may otherwise not have eaten at all that day.”
Changing from a wellness center to a clubhouse model would mean that recipients of services at Circle of Friends would not just be clients, but would “work alongside staff to operate the Clubhouse, build employment and life skills, strengthen social connections, and support one another in recovery,” Hill Country said in a June 30 statement.
Campbell was quoted in the statement as having said the decision to temporarily close the program was “incredibly difficult,” but she was overall supportive of the change.
“We believe deeply in the Clubhouse model because it empowers individuals living with mental illness to build meaningful relationships, develop skills and actively participate in their own recovery. We are ready to move forward as soon as the necessary funding and county processes are finalized, and we remain hopeful that Circle of Friends can reopen as quickly as possible,” Campbell said in the statement.
For those who rely on Circle of Friends, though, getting mental health services elsewhere in the meantime will be challenging.
Campbell said support can still be accessed through the Hill Country CARE Center at 1401 Gold St. in Redding, by contacting the organization’s Mobile Crisis Outreach Team at 530-238-7133, or by finding help through the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency.
But none of these services are located physically near Burney, a rural town that clients of Circle of Friends said has only the one mental health program.
Circle of Friends program manager Lisa Williams said this could pose an issue for many of their participants, who “face barriers such as limited transportation and social isolation.”
“Even if the interruption is only a few months, I believe there will be a significant impact. Routines, relationships, and support systems are especially important for people living with mental health challenges. When those routines are disrupted, it can increase isolation and make it more difficult for people to maintain the progress they have worked so hard to achieve,” said Williams.
Circle of Friends ‘good for taxpayers too’
Martina and other Circle of Friends clients at the meeting also tearfully emphasized the profound impact the program has had on their lives, explaining that they’ve found “family,” “friends,” and “community” through it.
Robin Keady, president of the Rotary Club in Burney, suggested that keeping the program open may have an economic benefit for the county.
“It helps people before they need the ambulance, before they end up in emergency rooms, before law enforcement gets called, before they need more county services. That’s not just good for the people who attend Circle of Friends, it’s good for taxpayers too,” said Keady.
At the meeting, Plummer acknowledged anxieties about the county’s struggling budget and how funding should be allocated, but agreed that keeping Circle of Friends open “helps keep people out of more required services” and said he’s hopeful that the Health and Human Services Agency will “continue to push to have that come online.”
Plummer and Long could not be reached for comment after the meeting.
Circle of Friends is not the first mental health resource in Shasta to be threatened as a result of Proposition 1.
Recently nixed was the county’s Stand Against Stigma program, which strived to raise awareness for, and destigmatize, mental health struggles.
The program is no longer eligible for state funding under the Behavioral Health Services Act, which “reforms behavioral health care funding to prioritize services for people living with the most significant mental health needs, while adding the treatment of substance use disorders…,” the California Department of Health Care Services said.
Drew Askeland covers Redding and Shasta County government issues, as well as anything else that needs reporting for the Record Searchlight and USA Today Network. Reach him at drew.askeland@redding.com or (530) 225-8247. Please subscribe today to support our newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Eastern Shasta County mental health center closing leaves gap in care
Reporting by Drew Askeland, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Drew Askeland, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
