Counseling center loses funds
Area mental health care money cut

Darlene Hayes, office manager and DWI instructor for Cibola Counseling Services in Grants, takes a phone message while working at her desk Wednesday afternoon. Behind her is Beverly Michael, one of the therapists and a licensed social worker. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The double edged sword when it comes to mental health care in New Mexico is that there is an increase in mental illness issues while funding for programs to deal with these issues is being cut across the board.

Many of the causes of mental health problems are now compounded by increased use of alcohol and methamphetamine, which has grown to epidemic proportions, primarily in rural areas.

The Cibola Counseling Center in Grants deals with these problems on a daily basis and according to Beverly Michael, staff therapist at the Center, "The problem of methamphetamine use has quadrupled over the last ten years in our immediate area. It has devastating side effects for families, too, causing increased violence in the home and in the community at large." She added, "Most meth that gets into the community isn't even manufactured here but comes in from these 'superlabs' in Mexico ... "

Methamphetamine use isn't the only issue the center has to deal with on a daily basis, Darlene Hayes, office manager and DWI school instructor said, "We also deal with mental health issues caused by alcohol, which is actually our number one problem in the area although meth use is growing alarmingly. We also deal and counsel people who are victims of domestic violence and abuse and also those who have a gambling illness."

Not being a part of city or county government, the center is a fee for service agency with a sliding fee scale. Hayes said, "Most of our funding comes from Medicaid dollars, but here in New Mexico those funds will be cut by 20 percent in August; so, we will have to find other ways to compensate for the loss of that money. Dealing with these mental health problems in a rural area is an uphill battle."

Recovery for methamphetamine addicts is also difficult as it takes a great deal of time to recover fully, and funding cuts for residential treatment centers have created long waiting lists for extended stays. Addicts continue to receive care as outpatients, but that may not be the best course of action given the extent of the addiction.

Hayes said, "Most of the people who come to us for help are here voluntarily, in fact 90 percent come in on their own seeking help and 10 percent are here because the courts ordered them to." There is much work to be done to overcome funding cuts despite the growth of mental illness problems in the community, and the center is just one weapon in the recovery arsenal in Grants.

The center's staff includes four therapists, one case manager and one psychiatrist, but the goal is to unite different community factions into a mental health collaborative to include the city, county, law enforcement, the hospital, local churches, schools and the general public to devise ways to help increase recovery programs and to take a proactive approach to help eradicate, or at the very least reduce methamphetamine and alcohol abuse in Grants and Cibola County.

The best part of the job, Hayes said, "is serving the people of Cibola County. I was born and raised here and my heart is here with the mentally ill in the community. The saddest part of the job is the kids. When they come in from abused homes where they have been neglected or abused, and also the people that have to suffer and watch their family members who are addicted to methamphetamine."

There's more to be done on all levels in the small community, Michael said, "A lot needs to be done on the law enforcement side of things. People who are trafficking these things have to be arrested and they have to go to jail. They need to be caught and know there are consequences for their actions. We as a community have to help law enforcement in their battle and report those dealers and users in your neighborhood and our people in Santa Fe in the legislature have to realize what managed care has done to mental health services across the state."

There is still much to be done in mental health awareness and the formation of the mental health cooperative in Cibola County and as it makes progress the dedicated staff of the Cibola Counseling Service Center will continue their work on behalf of suffers of mental illness in the community. The Center is located at 906 1st Street in Grants and open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. You can call them for help and assistance at 287-7985. They also have an after hours crisis line toll free at 1-866-527-2291.