CAASA eyeing funds for mental health referral service

The Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse (CAASA) is moving ahead with plans to use a recently awarded $25,000 state funding allocation to contract with a referral service to provide free emergency mental health services for all residents.

In a separate measure, CAASA is also moving forward with plans to establish a physical drop-in center at a church or synagogue to provide support and resources to victims of opioid addiction and their family members. Canton may also be the first community to create a virtual drop-in center that would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The $25,000 funding allocation, initiated by state Senator Walter Timilty as part of a budget amendment and approved by the legislature, would go toward securing a two-year contract with the William James College Interface program, which works in partnership with several Massachusetts social service agencies to provide resource information and provider referrals to individuals in need of mental health services. Residents would call a toll-free hotline and the service agency would “shorten the paper process,” said CAASA Chairman and Fire Chief Charles Doody.

“The Interface program would take the legwork out of the process and avoid the paperwork frustration,” said Doody. “Some communities like Needham and Newton have used it and had success.”

The chief suggested it would be useful for many town departments, including the Canton Public Schools, Police, Fire, Board of Health, and Council on Aging.

Doody hopes to present the idea to selectmen at their next meeting on March 6 and, if approved by the board, sign a contract with the Interface program.

Regarding the drop-in centers, Doody said the goal is to offer them monthly and all that remains is finding a Canton church or synagogue to host the program. He said it would be an arrangement similar to a church hosting an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where people can come to hear from professionals and learn about available resources. Doody said Holbrook and Avon have instituted a drop-in center and have found success with the program. He said the hope is to have the center up and running by sometime in April. Among the agencies providing assistance to CAASA are the state Bureau of Substance Abuse Services and the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.

To take it a step further, Police Chief Ken Berkowitz is working with Canton Information Systems Manager Louis Jutras to establish a virtual drop-in center that would be accessible online 24/7. “There would be no one to talk to, but there would be links to email someone,” said Doody.

CAASA, which met Monday and will meet again March 19 at 3:30 p.m. at Canton Fire Headquarters, is also preparing to speak in defense of a selectmen-backed town meeting article to prohibit marijuana retail sales in Canton. Representatives of various town departments are regular members of CAASA and support the article. If the article is defeated, various town officials have submitted an alternative proposal that would restrict the siting of marijuana retail shops through zoning regulations.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Mar 3 2018. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.