Mental health peer program loses funding

Peer counseling, a way for the mentally ill to help each other through their problems, has been used in Nevada County for several years.

The counselors are clients trained by mental health officials to lead discussions with other clients. It's been called a cost-effective way to stave off crises and prevent expensive stays at out-of-county hospitals.

"It's a better use of money to help people in need before they get in trouble, and it's healthier for the community," county Supervisor Barbara Green said.

But about $17,000 earlier set aside for a new drop-in peer counseling center has been cut, and more than two dozen people showed up at Tuesday's county board asking it be restored.

David, a 43-year-old Grass Valley-area resident with a degree in microbiology, told the supervisors about his struggles with bipolar and social anxiety disorders, illnesses that carried him through huge emotional swings of anger and grandiosity.

His life unraveled. But, he said, SPIRIT Caring Hearts Peer Counselors was a big part of his recovery. He now works as a prep cook and dishwasher, and he has been married 18 months.

"I feel like I have gone through a lot and also accomplished a lot," said David, who did not give his last name, said.

Supervisors appeared surprised they hadn't learned of the budget item. Behavioral Health Services Director Robert Erickson said that's because the money was axed before his department submitted a budget to the county budget subcommittee.

At the time, Erickson said, there was public pressure to keep open the Lovett Recovery Center for inpatient drug and alcohol treatment, so that's where the $17,000 went.

After Tuesday's discussion, which included a short video about the peer counseling program, the supervisors agreed to revisit the funding issue. Peer counseling sessions have been held at the county HEW Complex.

Rod Pence, Nevada County chapter president of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, praised peer counseling, but he said the county also needs a crisis intervention and crisis stabilization unit - two other ways the mentally ill can avoid the need for more intense inpatient care.

In other business:

-- The board voted 5-0 to increase booking fees at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility from $98 to $155 per inmate. Fees, which are billed to the arresting police departments, were last increased in 1994.

Sheriff Keith Royal said the increase will bring in another $61,000 per year, depending on the number of arrests. Sheriff's Capt. David Baxley said the measure will cover the increased cost of booking inmates.

The county's police chiefs were resistant to the change, which they called the product of a badly written fund-shifting law.

Grass Valley Police Chief John Foster said his department budgeted $98,000 this fiscal year and will need to increase that 58 percent for next year. Truckee Police Chief Dan Boon sees his booking budget jumping from $48,000 to about $70,000, and Nevada City Police Chief Lou Trovato said his department will go from about $16,000 to $24,000.

Sometimes costs for booking inmates are imposed on convicted inmates at sentencing.