DHS: A reprieve for the most vulnerable

By Matthew Graham

The Clackamas Review, Aug 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Services still lacking

Still, neither Becker nor Veenker would say things are good — they’re just less bad than expected.

“We were thinking whole huge areas were going to be decimated, and that didn’t happen,” Becker said. “The system is in neutral: we’re not progressing where we all need to go, but we’re able to pretty much maintain what we have. In this economy some would say that’s a win.”

Veenker was less optimistic, saying she and other volunteers with the National Alliance on Mental Illness are struggling to keep some people’s heads above water.

“I don’t want to say things are good; people are still having problems, I’m still getting calls, ‘my daughter, my son, we can’t get them services,’” Veenker said. “Because of the economy, it’s just regardless of them not getting funding cuts, there never was enough funding and that goes way back to Reagan. He decided people shouldn’t be hospitalized but treated in their community. The problem is they never did a good community basis of care, we are still looking at care is based on crisis care as opposed to wellness care.”

NAMI has stockpiles of food and other basic necessities that it can give to people who are struggling, helps pay co-pays for doctor visits, helps refer people to the right services at the county, runs emergency and non-emergency hotlines and more.

“If people are falling through the cracks and they just need help, we’re here,” Veenker said. But, she added, “It’s not going to work until we can get funds and increase preventive care, until we start focusing on wellness instead of crisis.”

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2