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Behavioral health support explored by Longmont City Council

Daily Times-Call (Longmont, CO) - 4/22/2015

April 22--Longmont Community Services Director Karen Roney, along with Public Safety Chief Mike Butler, presented City Council with their initial ideas and plans for improving mental health services and access for those in need during Tuesday night's study session.

It's not an easy task, both Roney and Butler said.

"We have a ways to go on this," explained Roney when she opened the study session on mental health support in the city. "We don't have all the answers"

Tuesday's study session comes after a community forum on mental health was held on April 13, which was prompted by two horrible tragedies that took place in Longmont last month.

On March 18, police arrested Dynel Lane, alleging she attacked Michelle Wilkins and cut Wilkins' unborn baby from her womb.

One day earlier, police say Omar Martinez stabbed both of his parents, killing his father, before committing suicide.

Both incidents are believed to have involved mental illness.

"We have barriers to services, we have gaps in services," Roney said.

"This is the kind of issue, that can devastate a community," Butler added.

From 2012 to 2014, 40 people committed suicide in Longmont, Butler said. During that same time period, Longmont Public Safety placed nearly 800 people on mental holds where it was believed people were either a danger to themselves or others.

In 2013 and 2014, Longmont Public Safety responded to 2,140 suicide calls for service.

Roney believes the key to more success in handling those with mental illnesses, is through the greater involvement of the community.

"We touch on ways to engage the broader community in collective action to raise awareness of mental health issues and in helping people get the assistance they need when they need it, inclusive of some of the work that has been happening among community providers to address service access issues and gaps in service," she said. "This is really the beginning of many community conversations and future work to come; we are not presenting specific strategies at this point."

City Council Member Bonnie Finley believes more can be done at the school level.

"High school students could benefit from a class on mental health first aid," she said. "We should encourage the schools to do this."

Council Member Polly Christensen thinks that education should go further, including "offering these types of classes to churches, service groups and senior centers."

"I have no idea what the solution is," Mayor Pro Tem Brian Bagley said.

The council was unanimous in its feeling that this is just the beginning of a major effort to get people discussing and thinking about the mental health issues that people in the community deal with.

"Nobody talks about mental health," said Council Member Jeff Moore. "The stigma has taken the topic off the table. If we don't talk about it, we won't fix it."

Roney reported that the results of the April 13 forum do show progress.

"Forum participants have identified service gaps in the current behavioral health system, such as lack of specialized providers, in-home services, and hospitalization facilities, and the need for enhanced dispatch," she stated in her report. "The group is beginning to explore those service gaps, and is focusing on the ones it can influence or has some capacity to address."

But both Butler and Roney said the critical piece for moving forward lies in the community itself.

"We aren't unique," Butler said in discussing Longmont. "We need to understand the magnitude of this issue. There's no magic program. We have to stay with it. And we have to do something different."

It's their hope that through more community meetings and workshops, doing something different will mean doing something that offers more support and resources for the mentally ill.

Roney said the next community forum will be held in a few weeks, after dates have been confirmed with several key participants.

Vince Winkel: 303-684-5291, winkelv@times-call.com or twitter.com/vincewinkel

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