Thanks to the Washtenaw County Public Safety and Mental Health Preservation Millage, all Washtenaw County residents can get help 24/7 for depression, anxiety, addiction, and more. And receiving aid is as easy as calling 734-544-3050.
Thanks to the Washtenaw County Public Safety and Mental Health Preservation Millage, all Washtenaw County residents can get help 24/7 for depression, anxiety, addiction, and more. And receiving aid is as easy as calling 734-544-3050.
As Erin Spanier reports in "Add this number to your phone," an article in Connected, the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation magazine, success stories and available services--available at little or no cost at all--both continue to grow. From getting "same-day appointments with behavioral health specialists" to getting "help with insurance, housing, and food," the county continues to reap the benefits of its recent millage.
A program administrator, Melisa Tasker says, the results speak for themselves:
"Millage-funded staff expansions have allowed Washtenaw County Community Mental Health to respond to 800 more crisis service requests in the first six months of 2019--from January to June--than the agency did during the same time frame last year, and we've received 250 referrals in a two-month period for other services," Tasker says. "It's been such an honor to speak with and serve residents all across the county and we're looking forward to announcing many more program and system improvements in the years ahead."
Better yet, Washtenaw County Community Mental Health--through community collaboration and without using any tax dollars--has placed mental health professionals in rural sites as well as in the county's cities. So, whether someone's in need of case management in Ypsilanti, mental health services in Chelsea, or crisis intervention services in Ann Arbor, in-person service is available.
Needless to say, agencies like Washtenaw County Community Mental Health, and millage dollars like those provided by Washtenaw County voters, are of invaluable service to our community.
As Chelsea Police Chief Ed Toth puts it, "Thirty years ago, you might deal with a mental health crisis a few times a year. Now it's a weekly situatio. We're a small agency here--usually a couple of people covering a shift and that's all. But evern time I've called the county mental health hotline, the response team has been super for us."