Carrie Helm, president of the Stephenson County Mental Health Board, and representatives of United Way, Grama Disability Resources and Services, Malcolm Eaton Enterprises and the county Veterans Assistance Commission told the Stephenson County Finance Committee on Oct. 10 that mental-health services in the county lack sufficient funding and that county support should continue.

Helm said the county has been “hit hard with the mental health crisis” and that local providers are “maxed out” but keep “show[ing] up.” Jamie Culler, representing United Way of Northwest Illinois, asked the committee to “maintain funding for 2-1-1 and community mental health,” saying 2-1-1 assisted 552 county residents from Aug. 1, 2024, through Aug. 31, 2025, and that the service connects callers to higher-level care when risk is high.

The speakers described 2-1-1 as an immediate, confidential access point for rural families, seniors and single parents, and Culler framed the service as preventative: “From a finance perspective, this is prevention that pays for itself,” she said, listing avoided emergency-room visits, law-enforcement responses and psychiatric boarding as downstream savings.

Liz Mosier of Grama Disability Resources and Services said her agency provided 319 referrals and one-on-one work with 84 people in Stephenson County in the last year, and that 58 percent of those consumers met the board’s referenced eligibility standard. Mosier said Grama’s independent-living team helps find or retain housing, works with schools on Individualized Education Program and 504 meetings, and is launching a peer-support group in the county.

Brian Babcock, speaking for Malcolm Eaton Enterprises in Freeport, said county funds act as a bridge for adults with developmental disabilities who are waiting for state services and that donor and county support permits fuller service days for clients. Jake Wagner, superintendent of the Veterans Assistance Commission, asked for continued funding for veterans services and noted rising demand for rides to medical appointments outside the county.

The comments were given during the public-comment portion of the finance committee meeting; the committee did not take a formal funding vote at that session. Committee members were given the testimony and documents and have the option to include sustained funding requests in the county budget process.

Speakers emphasized that many services have no wait lists, that providers regularly staff phones to provide timely support, and that keeping services accessible reduces calls to crisis systems. No statutory or binding county action was announced during the public comments; speakers asked that the committee consider maintaining or restoring financial support during budget deliberations.