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Residents, providers say Cumberland County mental health funding cuts have closed services and left people vulnerable
Summary
At a public hearing on the Human Services Block Grant, multiple consumers, providers and a school superintendent testified that recent county funding cuts have reduced or eliminated psychiatric rehabilitation, peer support and supported employment services, and they urged restoration or alternative funding.
Dozens of Cumberland County residents, providers and school officials told commissioners July 30 that recent county mental health funding cuts have removed services many called "lifelines."
Deb Helwig read a statement from Jessica M. Paul, executive director of Consumer Satisfaction Services Inc., who wrote that county-funded recovery supports have helped people avoid inpatient care and remain connected to their communities. "Today, 27 individuals have lost access to peer support," Jessica Paul wrote, "47 have lost access to psychiatric rehabilitation, and 70 have lost access to supported employment services." Deb Helwig explicitly identified Jessica Paul as the source when presenting the statement.
Multiple consumers addressed the commission directly. James Baldick said, "If I couldn't get these services, I probably wouldn't have committed suicide," and credited peer and case-management supports with keeping him housed and out of hospitals. Karen Hafner, a STAR Center member, read a letter describing the loss of county-funded psych rehab groups and the warm line; she told the commissioners she had lost a job at Merakey when funds were cut.
School officials also described impacts. Bill Longest, superintendent of Schuylkill (Schuette Harvard in transcript) School District, said county-supported mental health professionals historically served on school student-assistance teams and conducted expert screenings with parental consent. "Cutting mental health services now in the midst of a youth mental health crisis is like sending firefighters home while the entire department is battling a 4-alarm fire," Longest said, urging restoration of funding or other support for schools.
The nut graf: testimony tied the service reductions to county budget shortfalls and to larger state-level delays in payments; speakers warned the cuts increase risk of crises, emergency-room visits, homelessness, and hospitalizations and asked for state and county action to restore or replace lost supports.
Speakers repeatedly cited state-level budget uncertainty. A county official read aloud a July 29 letter from the governor's Office of Budget outlining delayed payments across multiple programs if the state budget is not passed, including quarterly advances for behavioral health and other human-services payments. Commissioners acknowledged the state budget situation and said the county is monitoring cash flow and can sustain services for a limited period but stressed that prolonged state funding delays would force further reductions.
Ending: commissioners heard public testimony, discussed the state budget letter, and approved the Human Services Block Grant plan for submission; no immediate reversal of cuts was announced at the hearing.
