City officials are reporting progress in their efforts to improve delivery of substance abuse and mental health services closer to home with the creation of a local hub.
While the state has designated Danvers-based Eliot Community Human Services to serve Haverhill, councilors have asked since April for a city-based center. Mayoral Chief of Staff Christine Lindberg reported last week Eliot has been reaching out to the city to find ways to improve service.
“Eliot staff members have been meeting with the Lahey at the Haverhill Police Department and talking to the Department of Mental Health and the Holy Family Hospital and they decided to start a monthly hub at-risk meeting for individuals in the City of Haverhill who are in need of behavioral health services,” she explained.
Eliot operates one of the community behavioral health centers intended to provide around-the-clock urgent mental health and substance abuse treatments for children and adults.
Back in April, the Council asked Mayor James J. Fiorentini, as well as state and federal representatives, to find the means to finance a mental health crisis center locally in order to provide urgent mental health and substance abuse treatments for children and adults.
Council Vice President John A. Michitson acknowledged NFI, the Northeastern Family Institute of Haverhill, does help provide significant services in the city but said the problem is larger than a single agency can handle.
“NFI is providing much needed addiction prevention and treatment services for the city and I think that we probably need more of those services. As far as opioid overdose calls in the last 12 months, there’s been 197. Over the last 10 years or so, deaths resulting from overdoses has averaged 25 to 30 per year,” he said.
Michitson said money is available in the form of the Cannabis Excise Tax and the Opioid Settlement Account to help fight the problem.
NFI Division Director of Outpatient Services Kim Boisselle said the biggest problem they are facing is finding staff clinicians—in particular, a program director. A $75,000 salary is being offered, but Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan called inadequate.
“Seventy-five is not a lot of money to do that job. I’m going to suggest you increase that salary by 15,000 at least, because I don’t think you’re going to find one for under 90,000,” he said.
Lindberg responded, saying she would alert the mayor as it is clear the position is not going to be filled for less.
Pleased that there has been movement in the right direction, councilors also endorsed a proposal made by Councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski to request an additional $20,000 from the mayor to conduct a youth survey in order to collect further data regarding drug use among school-age youth. The motion passed unanimously.