Marblehead counseling center reports 400 clients in 2024 and a 235-person waitlist

Meeting minutes from the Jan. 14, 2025 Marblehead Board of Health meeting report that the Counseling Center served 400 clients and provided 7,000 clinical hours in 2024, while maintaining a waitlist of 235 individuals, 43% of whom are listed as Marblehead residents.

Chair Helaine R. Hazlett opened the meeting and acknowledged continued community support for the Counseling Center. The minutes describe a recent significant bequest that funded landscaping and a memorial garden and note that Community Wellness Day included health booths and entertainment.

The minutes list staffing as a constraint: the center has seven licensed clinicians and two staff members working toward licensure. The report records the hiring of social worker Katherine Percy to help address social services needs and states efforts are ongoing to recruit additional clinicians to meet rising demand. The document also flags “rising mental health concerns,” especially among youth and elderly populations.

Facility work at the Hobbs building includes completed first-floor renovations, with additional work needed on windows, a back porch and kitchen renovations to support group therapy. The Mental Health Task Force continues collaborative work with schools and community organizations, and fundraising for a Community Health Assessment is underway.

The minutes do not attribute the numerical service and waitlist figures to a specific speaker; they appear as administrative report items in the meeting record. Next procedural steps recorded in the minutes include finalizing the town meeting report.