Clarifying inaccuracies in letter

To the editor:
    In the Wednesday, April 29, 2009 edition of The Star-Herald  there was a letter to the editor titled, “Mental health services a must.” Though I appreciate the intent behind the letter to raise awareness, I am writing to correct some inaccuracies.     In the letter, AMHC was identified as receiving monies from the Department of Corrections (DOC) to provide emergency services to all those in the county, inclusive of those inmates at the County Jail. AMHC does not receive any monies from the Department of Corrections to provide emergency services as outlined in the article last week.
    Despite the lack of reimbursement from the DOC, AMHC does offer emergency crisis response and crisis stabilization services 24/7 to all county residents, including those at the County Jail. Further, we also provide psychiatric coverage for inmates at no charge to anyone. However, just within the past few years we discontinued providing individual and group treatment services for both mental health and substance abuse issues for Aroostook County Jail inmates due to severe cuts in grant dollars from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services that had supported AMHC providing these services.
    My hope is that by reading my letter, community residents will learn about the impact that the economic recession and state budget cuts have had and are continuing to have on the availability of mental health and substance abuse services for jail inmates and all county residents. Because of chronic state budget deficits, public funding for mental health and substance abuse services has been cut and services are at extreme risk of being eliminated completely for all residents. If funding is cut, an individual may only have access to service if they have private insurance or other income resources to pay for them.
    Our state legislators will be making some very difficult decisions in the coming weeks to try and resolve the state’s fiscal deficit. As a result, there may be some public mental health and substance abuse services that will go away because the state cannot afford to pay for them any longer. Accordingly, residents may have to prioritize how to pay for services they absolutely need or go without them if they are unaffordable. It is up to all residents to identify what services are important to them and advocate with their legislator that they be retained and funded for the public at large in need.
    In closing, AMHC has served Aroostook County for more than 35 years. Despite budget cuts, please know that it has and will continue to be AMHC’s goal to advocate for adequate public funding for community based mental health and substance abuse service. AMHC will continue to offer, to the best of our ability, affordable services to all community residents, inclusive of those who are inmates at the County Jail.
    If you would like to learn more about what AMHC offers for services, please visit our Web site at www.amhc.org.