Mental health funding falls through

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - The General Assembly gave $1.5  million in 2012 to start crisis service across Virginia, but the Hampton Roads are did not get any of that money. 

While the the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. last week brought the country to tears, it also brought up issues of availability and accessibility to mental health care.

10 On Your Side spoke with Jim Thornton, the new coordinator of Child and Youth Mental Health Services in Virginia Beach who is fighting for funding in southeast Virginia.

"It made me even more dedicated to trying to build these crisis services, " Thornton said.

Thornton told WAVY.com he believes there is a gap in Virginia's mental health care system that must be filled.

"The sad truth is on a given day if somebody wants to take a gun and commit as much mass harm as they can and take their own life, there's not much that's going to be able to be done on that particular day to stop them," Thornton said.

Stopping those with mental illnesses from committing acts of violence takes early intervention, said Thornton. For instance, Thornton used the example of a paranoid and aggressive 16-year-old he was assigned to near Lynchburg a decade ago.

"He ended up having an arsenal of weapons in his bedroom and he became very upset when I started discussing with his parents the fact that I didn't feel like he was safe to have these guns," Thornton said.

The boy's parents not only knew about the guns, but had given most of them to their son as Christmas and birthday gifts.

Thornton got a court order to have the guns removed.

"I truly feel based on the work I did with him that he was probably one negative life event away from imitating some of this type behavior we're seeing," Thornton said.

Thornton explained children on Medicaid can get crisis services, but  families with private insurance have two choices - hospitalization or out-patient care, which is usually a couple hours a week. 

Thornton is now writing a proposal asking the state for ongoing funds to provide crisis services for everyone.

He estimates the cost at about $3,000 a month per child, a cost that could never compare to loss such as that in Newtown, Conn.

Lawmakers start budget talks in just a few short weeks andThornton's proposal calls for $745,000.

It would include some overnight beds for mental health services, as well as a mobile crisis team similar to the one he began in Lynchburg. The program would be based in Virginia Beach and used as a model for the rest of Hampton Roads.

Along with money, Thornton said public awareness is needed to identify the warning signs in kids, most often identified as

• aggressive or destructive behavior such as throwing desks or getting into fights  
• threatening to harm oneself or others
• constantly threatening to run away or expressing that no one loves or cares for them.

Any families who would like mental health services can call the pre-registration number at (757)385-0866.