Cutting Too Close to Home

[cross-posted from Beyond VSH bloghere]
 
by Morgan W. Brown 
Within its most recent bi-weekly update (dated: March 25th), the Vermont Department of Mental Health (VT DMH) indicated that during the last meeting of the Transformation Council, “Commissioner Michael Hartman briefed the group of twenty consumers, providers, advocates, and staff on the elimination of positions necessitated by projected deficits in the FY 10 budget. Two positions, Quality Management and Housing, are subject to reduction-in-force provisions pending the outcome of legislative deliberations on the budget. Two other unfilled positions have been eliminated.”
The official title of the housing position in question is listed by the state personnel department as being a mental health community services coordinator, one which is more commonly known by those of us within the state's mental health, housing and homeless circles as the VT DMH housing specialist or housing coordinator.
Late last week in its weekly report (dated: Friday, March 27th), the Vermont Mental Health Performance Indicator Project (PIP) provided “information on the proportion of adults with serious mental illness served by Vermont community mental health programs during CY2008 who were also served by community programs for the homeless during the same year.”
Among the key findings documented within the brief report was of how this population of Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) “clients were more than ten times as likely as members of the general population to receive homeless services.”

There is never a good time to cut a position of this sort. Additionally, there is certainly no worse time to do so than under the dire budgetary circumstances currently being faced by local governments, communities and human service providers across the state, as well as the families and individuals served by them, which of course includes those of us who live with serious mental illness and whom also may find ourselves living without permanent housing (i.e., homeless) or otherwise at great risk of such.

For some of us, there are times when we need these very public servants — also known as state employees — and, others elsewhere whom they coordinate with, in working together in a team effort with us as we either seek or attempt to maintain what it takes to acquire or keep housing, employment, supports and services in helping us meet the various, yet different basic human service needs we may individually need assistance with.

If anyone thinks this is easy or simple accomplishing, I can personally attest via years of personal experience and observation to the fact that it is far from being so.

The truth is this matter is also about much more than purely being an issue concerning money, funding or revenue or, having enough of these to meet basic human needs. This is particularly the case when it comes to those of a highly vulnerable population at an increased risk of living on the street, staying in a homeless shelter longterm or, either in jail, prison, the state hospital or, some other psychiatric unit or institution elsewhere.

It is also about those being in such positions who have the necessary breadth of knowledge, experience and institutional memory required to get the job done, as well as also having an array of contacts all across the state at various levels and maintaining communication and relationships with each and every contact, whether the person is in the mental health, housing, homeless or other such field in a hands on fashion rather than just being focused more on policy matters concerning such.

The committed and dedicated state employee, who has for years served as the VT DMH housing coordinator and, just like their predecessor has performed their work across all Agency of Human Services (AHS) populations as well, is such a person.

This position is more crucial now than ever. As such, it is the type of position definitely deserving to be spared from the budget ax.

If you agree, please contact your local state representative and state senator(s) as soon as is possible in order to urge them to not allow positions like these to be cut from the state workforce. 

Otherwise it could be too late down the road for many of my peers as well as myself in our hopes to find or maintain safe, decent and affordable housing of our own and live independently within our communities as we may choose.

 

Morgan W. Brown 
Montpelier, Vermont
Sunday, March 29, 2009 

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2 thoughts on “Cutting Too Close to Home

  1. Received word today from the Vermont DMH Housing Coordinator that the RIF of their position was rescinded and the position has been spared; the state abolished vacant position instead.

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