“We’re trying to get the consumer of mental health services to take charge of their own recovery,” explained David Crosby, consumer services director for Crossroads.
Crossroads Behavioral Healthcare is the local managing entity for mental health, developmental disabilities and substance-abuse services in Surry, Yadkin and Iredell counties.
Crosby added that the $9,000 state grant recently received by the community mental health program will allow the agency to implement a wellness management recovery project for clients.
Its target population includes those with such severe conditions as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depressive disorders. An estimated 3,037 people in Surry County suffer from such ailments, in addition to 1,792 children, according to July 2009 statistics.
Crosby explained that the wellness management recovery planned locally will enhance a movement toward community mental health care delivery and away from institutionalized care which began during the presidency of John F. Kennedy.
It will involve “putting them in charge of their own treatment, their own wellness, which is the way it should be anyway,” Crosby said, adding that many “dependency issues” can exist otherwise.
Through classroom settings and other exposure, participants will be encouraged to think about what is involved with helping themselves stay well, and assist in implementing plans to manage their own treatment. This can include making sure they take medication for their conditions as well as recognizing a need for more exercise or social contact, Crosby said.
“It’s really empowerment for the consumers,” he said.
The $9,000 grant — awarded by the N.C. Council of Community Programs in collaboration with the Governor’s Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse — will allow Crossroads staff members to be trained so they can implement the program. Crosby said this will broaden the impact of the wellness management recovery concept, since he basically is the only person with Crossroads practicing it now.
Crossroads was only one of three local management entities in North Carolina to be selected for the grant funding, which involved submitting a formal proposal and other requirements.
“We are excited that Crossroads was selected for this grant award,” said David Swann, the agency’s chief executive officer.
Crossroads has focused on wellness management since 2005 with wellness recovery action planning (WRAP) training for its consumers, Swann added.
“This effort has grown from these consumer-empowerment training sessions to the recent opening of a recovery education center operated by New River Behavioral HealthCare at our Statesville clinic and plans to open a recovery education center at our Mount Airy clinic in the near future. This grant gives us one more tool to extend our focus on wellness for our consumers.”
The grant program is part of a systems transformation project in North Carolina which is focused on developing and supporting evidenced-based practices.
Crossroads is responsible for the management and oversight of the public system of behavioral health care at the community level, according to information from the agency. That involves planning, developing, implementing and monitoring services to ensure that consumers in its communities have access to quality, appropriate and timely care.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.
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