Mental Health Forum Addresses County Needs

Residents of Anne Arundel County can feel a little safer knowing that county agencies are cooperating and sharing information on mentally ill residents, according to a county forum on the topic held yesterday.

County Executive John Leopold scheduled the forum after the troubling details of the Tucson shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords became available. The shooter was delusional, spiraling deeper into mental illness, while friends and family stood by, not knowing what to do. Officials at the community college the shooter attended realized the severity of his problems and expelled him, yet didn't alert police to his troubling behavior.

Leopold called together county leaders from law enforcement, schools, mental health agencies and other mental health groups on Monday on the campus of Anne Arundel Community College to discuss how to stop a similar tragedy from occurring closer to home. 

“We need to make sure everyone who is working on these issues knows what the other is doing,” Leopold said.  

Despite funding cuts, the county does a better job than most with getting citizens the intervention they need at the earliest stages possible, Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency Executive Director Frank Sullivan said. “Help is always available, regardless of the ability to pay, at 410-222-7858,” he said.

The county is home to a “robust mental health outpatient system,” Sullivan said, recognizing Arundel Lodge in Edgewater and Vesta in Odenton as just two examples.

In recent years, the county’s mental health services providers and the community college have formed closer ties in response to an increase in the number of students dealing with mental health issues.

“We are starting to see larger amounts of students displaying disturbing behavior,” AACC Dean of Student Services Ivan Harrell said. As a result, the school has increased the number of hours and staff members who provide supportive mental health services to identified students.

The county's Crisis Response System works directly with the college, schools, and the police to get troubled and often violent residents the treatment they need.

“We have a wonderful working relationship with the county’s crisis response team now,” Harrell said. “I have the director’s cell phone number on my cell phone.”

Harrell also said that AACC now has a Behavioral Intervention Team made up of faculty, deans, and other staff that review cases not typical of other student conduct issues and discuss ways to respond to meet the needs of more troubled students.

Gayle Cicero, coordinator of school counseling for the county school system, said county schools have also seen a rise in the number of students dealing with mental health problems and other issues. “[We are] at a different place than we were five years ago,” she said, explaining that student cases are more complicated with issues like homelessness and multiple diagnosis being made for students and parents.

She said the school system is looking at ways to assess student mental health and serious safety threats.

Leopold urged all of the stakeholders in the room to provide him with their priorities on this issue for the upcoming county budget he will present to the county council in April.

Cicero challenged Leopold and other executive leaders with "putting money where their mouth is."

"How do you measure prevention efforts?" she asked. "We know you have hard choices, but prevention does require investment in people. If we don't meet the needs of our young people early on, they go into an expensive cycle of treatment and crime."

Mary Ellen McMillan, a local resident who had an adult family member who was mentally ill, thanked all of the presenters for their efforts.

“I just wish that people would break down that stigma of mental illness and seek out some of these resources,” she said. She was also pleased to hear that the county’s website provides a list of resources for where to turn when something has to be done.

Pam Brown with the Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families, said, “The real question is ‘where do we go from here?’”

“I am willing to coordinate a group to push this dialogue forward,” she continued, “so that we can actively come out with information, spread that information quickly, and coordinate meeting the gaps and needs of our community.”