Spirit Center on the ropes
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
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12:01 a.m. PT Apr 29, 2008
The future of the Spirit Center mental health patient drop-in center in Grass Valley is in jeopardy, and it could be in limbo or without a home by summer 2009, according to its officials.
Spirit Center officials criticized Nevada County officials Monday for allegedly telling them they would receive money for a down payment toward the purchase of the Brunswick Basin home and then backing out. County officials said state regulations won't allow them to buy the home.
"We see a blatant disregard for the hard work and community input in the planning process," said Spirit founder Lily Marie. She said many people in the mental health community thought a consensus existed with the county to spend new Mental Health Services Act money to help Spirit buy the home.
"I can't explain what a disaster it would be to clients and the community" to lose the center, said Joan Buffington, a Spirit backer and mental health care professional. "We're in a small community, and there is nothing else like this.
"It's the only game in town," where mental health clients can get help without a formal appointment, she added.
The non-profit holds an option to purchase the building, but it lapses May 15, and the owner has been advised by an attorney to sell the property or raise the rent, Marie said. With either outcome, Spirit officials fear they could lose the five acres and large home they feel is perfect for the operation because of its location, calmness and accessibility.
Both Human Services Agency Director Jeffrey Brown and Behavioral Health Director Michael Heggarty said they fully support the drop-in center where peer counselors help patients stabilize and learn life skills to go back out into the community. They also said the county pays $155,000 now to run Spirit Center, pay its rent and its part-time employees.
But new state regulations for Mental Health Services Act spending say buildings purchased must be owned by the county, "and we can't let a non-profit be the owner," Heggarty said.
The behavioral health director also said the $745,000 in facility and technology funds for MHSA programs funded by Proposition 63 is not enough to meet the $800,000 needed to complete the Spirit Center purchase. Prop. 63, passed in November 2004, established a tax on personal income of wealthy people to help fund expanded health services.
"It would have meant putting everything into one program and left nothing for other priorities," Heggarty said. "I didn't think it was fiscally prudent. Supporting the program with an $800,000 loan is a reckless leap."
Heggarty also said his expressed desire to give $100,000 or $200,000 toward a down payment for the home - made on KVMR radio April 11 - was not a promise to Spirit.
"I do not believe I did promise, and I didn't have the authority to promise," Heggarty said, because MHSA funding decisions are made by consensus among county officials and citizen committees. "I wish I could do it, but it turns out I can't."
"It's disappointing the window of opportunity is closing," Brown said. "We're very supportive of the Spirit Center program and our mental health department helped start it years ago.
"It's a critical element of our continuum of care, but it's not the only element," Brown said. He added that his department would like to help Spirit find grants to get a facility in the future.
The $745,000 also is needed to purchase a new billing system and electronic health records software, Heggarty said. Some of the funding will also be used to renovate the facilities being used by the action team recently funded for severe patients.
"I didn't stand in the rain to get signatures for Prop. 63 so that behavioral health can get computers," Marie said. "The stakeholders who made this happen don't have a stake anymore."
The center has served more than 1,400 patients since the first of the year using almost 1,800 volunteer hours, Lily said. She said all of the supervisors and county Chief Executive Officer Rick Haffey have toured the facility and given their verbal backing, "but now there seems to be an unwillingness to negotiate with us."
The Spirit Center founder said if an inexpensive replacement building can't be found, "We'd probably have to close our doors for awhile until we find a place."
Waiting in limbo also could place a large financial impact on the county, Buffington said. Untreated mental health patients could clog the emergency room at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, cause shipment of more cases to out-of-county institutions and impact the jail population, she added.
The loss of the Grass Valley property could also dash the non-profit's dreams of building a crisis center and permanent housing on the site as it looks to expand for the future, according to Spirit Program Coordinator Guy Kerr.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or cal 477-4237.
