Even though Mental Health America has been serving Licking County for more than 56 years, most people don’t seem to know who we are until I mention Paddy Kutz. For almost three decades, Paddy has been the face of mental health information in Licking County. Everybody calls her when they run into a problem that they can’t seem to solve; have a family member who needs help and they don’t know where to go; or have an employee who doesn’t seem to know what is and is not okay in the workplace.
She will be the first one to tell you that she is not a counselor, but she can help people get connected with counselors and other treatment providers. She is passionate about recovery and advocates daily for the simple steps that people can take to get and keep control of their mental health. The steps may not always be easy, but they are, for the most part, simple.
What an incredible community resource she is and her unusual name has become shorthand for all things relating to behavioral health information. If you haven’t met her, or heard her speak, you probably know someone who has.
Paddy’s continuing ability to work for the good mental health of Licking County is at risk.
Unlike her energy, which at almost 71 years of age, seems limitless, the resources needed to support her agency and the 6 others that provide education, prevention and treatment services for mental health and substance use conditions are diminishing at an alarming rate.
Most of the money needed to fund our public safety net—including Mental Health America—comes from the State of Ohio and a county tax levy. As the State continues to have budget challenges, more money is being diverted from the Ohio Department of Health. Since 2008, funding for the Community Mental Health & Recovery Board has been reduced by $1.9 million. (An additional $1 million in Federal stimulus funding will be lost in 2011.) And these dollars are not expected to return. Levy dollars are tied to property values and it has been a while since those have increased.
The only things that have increased are the need for mental health and substance use services and the costs of providing them.
Mental Health America of Licking County has responded to ever-tightening budgets by reducing benefits, freezing wages, furloughing staff, not filling vacant positions; and, when these steps was no longer sufficient, by eliminating programs and terminating staff. Paddy even voluntarily took a pay cut of more than 30%.
Similar steps have also been taken at other agencies in the Community Mental Health & Recovery Board system. There is even a system-wide initiative underway to reengineer how services are provided in an effort to reduce costs by almost $2 million.
We believe that we have acted responsibly to control expenses while not jeopardizing our ability to respond to individuals and families in crisis.
With every indication that additional cuts in State funding are in the offing, even these steps will not be sufficient to fund the Licking County system at its present levels.
It is for these reasons that the Community Mental Health & Recovery Board is asking Licking County voters to approve a .45 mil 10-year supplemental levy on the May 4th ballot.
One of the reasons that people feel so comfortable talking to Paddy is that she has been around for more than a generation. People come to see her because she was able to help their parents. She is a community fixture: it’s comforting to know she’s available even if you don’t have need of her services.
Licking County is rightfully proud of its network of services it has built up—many of which were initiated by Mental Health America (Moundbuilder’s Guidance Center, The Main Place, LAPP, Big Brothers/Big Sisters)—but, like any system, it must be maintained or it will break down and fail, usually when you most need it to work.
Mental Health America is asking for your help to maintain our system so that all of the agencies—including Mental Health America of Licking County—can continue to care.
