Behavioral Health Task Force celebrates achievements, looks at goals for next 5 years

May 18--The Spartanburg Area Behavioral Health Task Force is celebrating a planned 24/7 mental health crisis stabilization center for adults and other achievements as it marks its fifth anniversary this week.

On Tuesday, the task force helped dedicate the new location of the New Day Clubhouse in Spartanburg. About 45 people representing service providers, funders and nonprofit partners attended.

"It was a true celebration of our partnership and our ability to honor and recognize the founding members," said Heather Witt of the United Way of the Piedmont, co-chairperson of the task force.

The task force was founded in May 2013 by the Mary Black Foundation, Spartanburg County Foundation, Spartanburg Regional Foundation and United Way of the Piedmont.

Its goal was to get help for the estimated 72,000 people in the Spartanburg area who have some type of mental health issue. That included providing training to hospital personnel, law enforcement, school personnel and first responders; modifying the hospital's emergency center to include a behavioral health wing; expanding telepsychiatry services; and working with partners like Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to educate the public.

Other goals included adding counselors to the county detention center; starting a reassurance line for continued support; and offering postpartum depression support.

Witt said many of the goals have already been achieved or are in the process of being accomplished, including the planned 24/7 crisis center and expanding the telepsychiatry program, thanks to $250,000 in recurring funds from the S.C. Department of Mental Health and a $500,000 grant from the Duke Endowment.

The center will be staffed by 13 health care professionals, including a psychiatrist, nurses and aides, and will open by Sept. 1, according to Tom Barnet, co-chair of the task force.

Looking ahead to the next five years, Witt said the task force is refocusing on strategies to link people with help before they're in crisis.

"We also know that the national conversation of substance abuse, particularly opioids, will be an area we address over the next three years," she said. "It is a complex issue and we will need to engage aspects of the community that go beyond the current task force. After working with this team for the past five years, I am confident that we can develop strategies around this particular issue and that we are up for the challenge."

Other achievements in the first five years that Witt noted include:

* Establishment of a Mental Health America satellite in Spartanburg;

* Implementation of crisis intervention training as a standard protocol for the Sheriff's Office and city field personnel;

* Rebuilding of the local NAMI chapter;

* Development of a behavioral health resource directory that was made available in print and online;

* Implementation of the Compassionate Schools Spartanburg program in all seven Spartanburg school districts;

* Training at the detention center to help reduce the rate of inmate recidivism and to teach life skills;

* Spartanburg Housing Authority and Upstate Warriors Solution making available $200,000 in vouchers to homeless or near-homeless veterans who have mental health issues.

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