Valley Mental Health to lay off up to 125 employees

More than 100 Valley Mental Health employees will lose their jobs by year's end, raising concerns that many fragile clients will find themselves with less help in coping with the travails of their daily lives.

Recession-driven budget cuts at the federal and state levels are driving the decision to cut 100 to 125 of Valley Mental Health's 1,170 employees, said Connie Hines, spokeswoman for the private, nonprofit organization that contracts with Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties to provide mental-health and substance-abuse treatments.

About 20,000 people annually receive services from the agency, she added.

"We're hoping to continue to serve the same amount of people, but we have to do it differently. We can't continue to provide the level of care the way we are now," Hines said.

That could be hard on some clients, she acknowledged. "They become quite dependent on these services because of the nature of their conditions. Change is upsetting."

Debra Falvo, Valley Mental Health's president and chief executive, advised clients in a letter Friday that "during the next few weeks, some of our programs will be closed. Some of the services we provide will be delivered in different ways."

She did not elaborate on what programs will be cut, but said "town hall" meetings starting Monday night and continuing through Wednesday will address the reductions and seek public input on appropriate courses of action.

Hines said

federal stimulus funding delayed the cuts, "but that money will be gone in July." So Valley Mental Health plans to let employees know by Dec. 1 whether they will be laid off.

"The cuts will be across the system, from administration and psychologists to social workers, case managers, nurses, court staff, accountants and billing," she said.

Mental health advocates shudder at the ramifications.

"It could be devastating," said Aaron Garner, president of the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance of Salt Lake, noting that 30 percent of its members receive services from Valley Mental Health.

"I understand what they're doing from their business point of view, but it will cost lives. People will not be able to receive care and will end up taking their own lives."

Garner is concerned that remaining staff members will be overloaded even more than now, and that psychiatric and medication-management services will suffer. More people with persistent mental illness will end up on the street, he predicted.

Sherri Wittwer, executive director of the Salt Lake chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, was hesitant to say too much until she learns more about specific cuts. But, she expressed concern about the impact on the mentally ill, "their families and our community as a whole."

To Crossroads Urban Center executive director Glenn Bailey, Valley Mental Health's problems will mean "eligibility gets tighter, waiting lists get longer and it will be harder to get services in a timely manner. It's going to get even uglier ... for people who have no other place to turn."

mikeg@sltrib.com