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The strong correlation between poverty and serious mental illness is well documented. Our community, southwest Detroit, is disproportionately poor, and the incidence of mental illness is high.
At our adult outpatient clinic at Southwest Counseling Solutions, 90% of those we serve earn less than $10,000 a year. The mental health needs in our community have been steadily increasing, while the resources to address those needs have been reduced. In addition, the system that provides these resources is complicated and daunting.
To help close the gap between need and resources, Southwest Counseling created its Supports Coordination service. This service connects our consumers to insurance, benefits and free medication opportunities. It also assists consumers in other ways.
Last year, we treated 1,864 individuals with serious mental illness at our outpatient clinic. Of those, 729 – or 40% – were helped by Supports Coordination.
Supports Coordination works with consumers to obtain Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance and other benefits for which consumers may be eligible. For consumers who do not have prescription coverage, Supports Coordination tries to qualify them for indigent drug programs that offer free psychiatric medications. These programs were established by pharmaceutical companies.
Southwest Counseling has always tried to make sure that individuals with serious mental illness get the medication they need even if they cannot afford it. Without the medication, we know that the consequences can be severe, both for the individual, whose recovery is compromised, and for the community, which bears the cost of emergency care and hospitalization.
Before the Supports Coordination service, the medication costs borne by Southwest Counseling (for consumers without drug plans) could run more than $10,000 a month. Now, because of the effectiveness of Supports Coordination in connecting consumers with indigent drug programs, we have reduced our medication costs to $400 a month.
Moreover, by securing insurance and benefits, whenever possible, we improve our financial footing and are better able to serve our community. Consumers who acquire insurance and benefits are more motivated and able to work toward recovery and a better quality of life.
“We try to be passionate advocates for the people we’re serving,” says Damary Perez, one of our two Supports Coordinator Assistants. “We help them navigate a system that they often find to be very frustrating.”
One of the clients that Damary helped is Lillian O’Brien. Lillian is 21 and lives in southwest Detroit with her grandparents. She suffers from numerous medical and mental health problems, including cognitive impairment, and is indigent.
Lillian has been coming to Southwest Counseling Solutions since she was four years old. Recently, her Medicaid lapsed after she missed an annual review with DHS (Department of Human Services). Lillian had just had her first child.
“We were desperate to get medical coverage for Lillian and her baby boy,” says Lilian’s grandmother, Gracie Claire. “We went to the DHS office, but we couldn’t cut through the red tape by ourselves. We felt pretty discouraged.”
Damary accompanied the family to DHS and spent four and half hours there helping Lillian fill out and submit the proper paperwork. The Medicaid application alone is 36 pages, and Damary went through the application line by line with Lillian and Gracie.
As a result, Lillian and her baby are now covered by Medicaid. In addition, Damary was able to help the Lillian secure food stamps and cash assistance.
“Damary was tremendously helpful,” Gracie says. “She was patient and persistent, and she talks their language.”
“The best part of our job is how much our clients appreciate our help,” says Amphy Negron, who works with Damary as the other Supports Coordinator Assistant. “Our clients understand that we are willing to go the extra mile for them. Going with them to DHS is important. It eases their anxiety and lets them know they are not alone.”
As funding for community mental health is curtailed, and the system of healthcare coverage becomes even more complex, Supports Coordination becomes increasingly important as an integral part of a sustainable counseling model.
Contact:
Steve Palackdharry
Communications Manager
313.297.1374
email
Counseling Overview
