IMPACT to push for area mental health improvements

A community congregation group asked local leaders Monday night to fund mental health assistance to those who cannot afford it themselves.

More than 1,000 people of faith attended the Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together Monday night at the University of Virginia’s University Hall. IMPACT is made up of 31 religious congregations in and around Charlottesville committed to looking at the root causes of community problems.

This year, IMPACT organizers tackled the issue of need for mental health services throughout the community They asked local leaders to provide annual funding for a transitional program to help people recently released from prison, and for affordable housing for individuals with mental illness.

Although Charlottesville City Councilors Kristin Szakos and Satyendra Huja and Albemarle County Board of Supervisor Lindsay Dorrier Jr. committed themselves to supporting the funding requests, others members of both boards sent written responses that they would have to look at additional information before they could commit to funding the projects.

“This is an issue that is dear to my heart,” Szakos said. “I have a family member who, though she has never been in jail, [she] may always need some kind of program housing because of mental illness. She’s currently living in another community because there is no program available for her here in Charlottesville. Meanwhile programs like Region Ten have repeatedly had their funding cut at the state level.”

Szakos said she would also like to see the city look at purchasing property that Region 10 could staff and use for housing. She also challenged the audience to write checks for funding and call their state representatives to encourage more funding for mental health issues on a state level.

For more than an hour, the crowd listened to personal stories of people who have been affected by mental illness. The crowd cheered when members of On Our Own of Charlottesville, a non-profit group that provides free support services to individuals with mental illness, talked about the need to treat all people with dignity and respect.

“Please help us help our community avoid labels and stigma,” said J. Rose Farber, executive director of On Our Own. “You can help promote the understanding and healing and support of our mentally ill... please try to understand who we are and what it is we experience.”

Each year, IMPACT takes on a community issue and offers suggestions to community leaders. In the past they have researched issues of transportation, affordable housing, dental health, Pre-K education and interpretive services.

“We are making an impact,” said John Frazee, a member of St. Paul Memorial Episcopal Church and co-president of IMPACT’s executive committee, “I want all of you to understand by being here we are making a difference in our community.”

According to IMPACT’s research, 26,000 people in the Region Ten planning district are experiencing some mental health issue. Last year, 210 of On Our Own’s 282 members were homeless.

IMPACT leaders asked city and county officials to split the $85,000 annual costs for the Healthy Transitions Program, a joint program of the Region Ten and the Virginia Department of Corrections. The program will provide psychiatric services to inmates being released from prison for 60 to 90 days while they wait for Medicaid services to be reinstated.

IMPACT officials also asked for both the city and the county to use money for affordable housing and target it towards individuals with mental illness.