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Mostly Cloudy Mental health services returning to Long Beach
County-funded program expected to begin next year, officials say
Much-need mental health services will be returning to the barrier island as early next year, as Long Beach Reach works to expand its current outpatient substance abuse counseling services utilizing grant funding received from Nassau County last spring.
Reach already provides mental health services to those suffering from chemical dependency issues through counseling that attempts to not just discontinue the drug use but also to help patients understand themselves and what they need to do to fulfill goals and lead better lives.
“This expanded program will allow us to treat people who maybe don’t have chemical dependency disorders,” Executive Director Dr. Joseph Smith said. “They’re people that maybe would have been more appropriately treated in a mental health clinic.”
Earlier this year, Nassau County’s Office of Mental Health secured $2.7 million in state funding to re-establish a clinic in Long Beach lost when the former facility — housed on the Long Beach Medical Center campus — was shuttered by Hurricane Sandy. They issued a request for information to state licensed treatment agencies and committed ongoing net deficit funding — the funding that they would need to remain fiscally sound after all their other revenues are collected — of $200,000 per year to its selection.
Long Beach Reach was chosen in June, Smith said. “From that point we initiated the process of securing the space and the licensure approval form the state,” he added. “We’re gearing up and preparing right now.”
Along with awarding Reach the funding, the county also allowed them to file for an application with the state Office of Mental Health that will allow them to open the new clinic and which they’re waiting to hear final approval on.
According to Dr. James Dolan, director of community services for the Office of Mental Health, Long Beach Reach is already in a uniquely good position to bridge the gap between general mental health services and chemical dependency treatments due to the type of work they’ve been doing.
