San Juan County issued the following announcement on Dec. 10.
San Juan County residents have a new resource for mental wellness needs with the opening of the San Juan County Mental Wellness Resource Center. The MWRC is opening in direct response to gaps identified by an analysis of behavioral health services in San Juan County.
“We are proud to be able to address the gaps identified and work toward totality of health for San Juan County residents,” said San Juan County Commission Chairman Jack Fortner, “mental health is part of the health picture that has been missing.”
The San Juan County Commission has prioritized addressing gaps in behavioral health services over the last two years.
“A little over three years ago when I presented a vision to begin addressing Mental Health issues in our community, I was glad that there was full commission support to move forward,” said San Juan County Commission Chairman Pro-Tem Jim Crowley, “It's truly exciting to see this vision come to fruition.”
The Mental Wellness Resource Center will serve as a centralized hub for connections to mental wellness services in the county, as well as being a conduit of collaboration between mental wellness service providers in the county. People who seek treatment for mental wellness can find appropriate services and culturally relevant programs for their needs. Peer mentors will not provide services, and instead help people navigate finding services, setting appointments, and finding the services they need. The MWRC will be under the direction of San Juan County Behavioral Services Director Su Hodgman.
“This is an awesome opportunity to move forward with our Commissioners’ plans to improve the mental wellbeing of San Juan County,” said Hodgman. “As we continue to fill in the gaps for services and collaboration on all things associated with mental wellness, we’ll bring San Juan County to the status of being the place in New Mexico to be for wellness and happiness.
In December of 2018, the San Juan County Commission requested an analysis of the state of behavioral health services in San Juan County. The results of the six-month study were published in May of 2019 and identified several service gaps in five main areas. One main suggestion is the implementation of a system to coordinate, collaborate, and align behavioral health services across the county. After the ‘Gap Analysis’ Report was released, San Juan County Commissioners directed the formation of a Behavioral Health Services Director position. Hodgman was hired in November of 2019 and worked for the last year to create the Mental Wellness Center, including securing grant funding for the Mental Wellness Resource Center.
Original source can be found here.
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