KENNEWICK, Wash. -- "I'm calm, quiet and polite, but there is that side to me. I'm tired of it but I don't have the resources to make the long lasting changes that I need to," said 42-year-old Mike Wilson of Kennewick who suffers from Bi-polar disorder and ADHD.
Wilson said he has not harmed anyone yet, but he is worried that one day he could.
The crisis in Connecticut has opened up a lot of discussions about mental illness. Many want to know what is being done for those with problems and where are the gaps that need to be closed.
"I have counseling and have my med doctor but that's about it," said Wilson who gets treated for his mental illness through Medicaid.
He says he does see a counselor but the care is limited.
"I only get 45 minutes with her a week, and I see my doctor every six months," he said.
Ed Thornbrugh who is responsible for The Public Mental Health Network, getting state funds to Benton and Franklin counties. The Department of Social Services director says their job is to help places like Grace Clinic and Lourdes Counseling Services get money to treat low income and Medicaid patients.
"I believe on a monthly basis, we see approximately 2,000 people enrolled in our outpatient mental health system," Thornbrugh said.
He says there are resources but problems as well. One resource for those in imminent danger is the Crisis Response Unit.
"We probably see face to face anywhere from 300-450 people a month. We probably take upwards to a 1,000 phone calls," said Gordon Cable, the integrated services manager at the Response Center.
Calbe sid they have a staff of about 20 that provide a variety of services, but not long term services.
"We refer out, we don't offer ongoing behavioral health services," he said.
"It's harder to get ongoing care established. We are serving people in crisis but not in between crisis," Thornbrugh said.
Thornbrugh said those who are Medicaid patients often have trouble finding a physician that takes them. And the providers who do accept Medicaid patients often have back logs of waiting. He says then there are the people who make too much money to get assistance but can't afford insurance.
"As the state budget crisis continues to evolve, those monies are shrinking. And now those monies are primarily dedicated to residential services or crisis services or paying inpatient claims when people are placed in inpatient units. So we are not able to do as much after care after a crisis, we have provision to do about two weeks of care to help stabilize," Thornbrugh said.
Thornbrugh said with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we should see the insurance exchange form by October1st, and hopefully that will cover more people who fall through the cracks. However, how good the benefits will be is yet to be known.
