A community mental health center serving the 10 counties ofSouthwest Mississippi may be cutting back on a few programs nextyear because of a lack of funding.

“It’s definitely been difficult in the last few years. It’spretty much a statewide phenomenon,” said Dr. Steven Ellis,director of Southwest Mississippi Mental Health Center at 511Brookman Dr. “The action of the legislature is going to help, butwe would have liked to see it funded at a higher level. We’vestruggled for the best part of the last two years.”

The problem, he said, is that external costs continue to rise ata rate far exceeding budget increases, which leaves the centersfurther behind in funding existing programs each year. Although thecommunity mental health centers are a government agency, Ellissaid, they are operated like a private business and must at leastbreak even at the end of the year to remain open.

“There’s going to come a time when we’ve eliminated everyconceivable thing that could possibly be termed a waste and cut tothe bone,” he said.

In that sense, waste would include programs that are not servingenough people to justify their costs, Ellis said, which is whereSMMHC is today.

A budget increase request by community mental health systems for$20 million was reduced to $2 million during this year’slegislative session. That falls below what is needed for thecenters to continue without reducing services, Ellis said.

The total budget for the state’s 15 community mental healthcenters is $185 million.

“I’m grateful for the assistance we did receive. It’s bought ussome time to figure out what to do next, but it’s not a permanentsolution,” Ellis said. “In our region, you’ll probably see someminor program shifts. In the long term, if we can’t get morefunding, you’ll see a loss of services.”

Instead of funding programs based on need, it is becoming moreimportant to provide those that can support themselves, hesaid.

“They have to fiscally sound, but still provide a neededservice,” Ellis said. “It needs to at least break even and supportitself; that’s the overriding priority. We have to cast the bestand broadest net we can.”

SMMHC serves approximately 4,600 people in Adams, Amite,Claiborne, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pike, Walthalland Wilkinson counties.

Broohavenite John Perkins, a member of the state’s Mental HealthBoard, said the board does not directly supervise the communitycenters, but does work with them to provide needed services.

Perkins predicted a dire future for some community mental healthsystems in the state if they are not able to make significantfunding adjustments.

“There are some excellent community mental health facilities,but at the other extreme there are those that are not run well,” hesaid. “As I understand the situation, about two-thirds of them willnot be able to meet their needs and may be closing. It’s not justthe money. Part of it is because the system is so convoluted.”

Perkins said a tangible part of the problem facing the centersis a mental health system that is in disarray because it is toodecentralized.

Appointed to the board last year by Gov. Haley Barbour, Perkinssaid he is among members of the board trying to change thedirection of mental health management in the state and working toconsolidate the mental health care.

Perkins said the budgeting difficulties among community mentalhealth facilities will not have any effect on the new mental healthcrisis center presently under construction in Brookhaven becausethe crisis center is funded directly by the state.

Although there will likely be some overlap in services providedby the facilities when the crisis center opens, it is verymarginal, Perkins said. The community centers treat primarilypeople with a permanent mental illness whereas the crisis center isused more for intervention.