UNDERSTANDING THE CRISIS Half of the calls to Montgomery County’s mental health unit from January to June were routine checkups on residents, although more than a quarter of calls were regarding people in mental health crisis.
CASES RISING The demand for
TYPE OF CALLS TO MENTAL HEALTH UNIT:
CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM MISC. Calls consist of checkups, follow-up visits with residents who recently experienced a mental health issue or completed outpatient services from Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare, or public service calls regarding mental health concerns.
mental health crisis services among both adults and children has increased in Montgomery County over the last decade. Children Number of Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare Crisis Services cases: Adults
COURT ORDERED MENTAL HEALTH CHECK These calls include mental health warrants and welfare checks.
196 CALLS (4%)
2,395 CALLS (50%)
MENTAL HEALTH TRANSPORT These calls include court- ordered transports from hospitals to psychiatric facilities or to court or voluntary transport from individuals seeking help.
461
2,624
Crisis intervention calls involve citizens struggling with: severe depression, suicidal thoughts or actions;
2017
612
3,161
2018
3,645
suicide with a weapon;
714
916 CALLS (19%)
2019
violent tendencies toward family members or the general public; overdoses on medications or those o their psychiatric medications;
CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM These calls include those to 911 concerning persons in mental health crisis.
775
3,800
CONTINUED FROM 1
2020
Counseling and Wellness—which opened a Tomball o ce in mid-Au- gust—said prior to Clearhope’s open- ing, there were no mental health providers in the Greater Tomball area accepting Medicaid and only two accepting health insurance. “Clearhope exists to remove access barriers to high-quality mental health services. So for students and fami- lies who rely on Medicaid for health bene ts in Tomball, there [were] no options,” Lambert said. The counseling center, which accepts health insurance—includ- ing Medicaid—o ers family, couples, group and individual counseling, and is in the process of partnering with Tomball ISD to provide services as well, Lambert said. At the same time, Montgom- ery County Precinct 1 Constable Philip Cash—who helps head the county’s mental health unit and
761
3,754
1,276 CALLS (27%)
2021
825
3,426
crisis intervention team—told Mont- gomery County Commissioners Court on July 26 the unit received 4,783 calls from January-June this year, already surpassing the 4,765 calls received in 2021. The county expanded the unit in August 2021 with federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. According to project and expendi- ture reports from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Montgomery County had budgeted $8.16 million for ARPA- funded mental health initiatives as of March 31. Harris County, meanwhile, intro- duced a $14.3 million ARPA-funded ini- tiative Aug. 25 to combat the growing mental health crisis, including invest- ing in workforce development for behavioral health centers and mental health supports for youth.
illegal narcotic substance use causing psychosis; and
2022 (Jan.- June)
Tri-County recorded more child cases from January to June than any other full year.
a manic state of mind or decline in health and mental state who are harmful to themselves or others.
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 1 CONSTABLE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
The initiative follows an $8.93 mil- lion three-year initiative also funded by ARPA dollars the county unveiled in October 2021 to provide men- tal health education and training to members of 10 ZIP codes, not includ- ing Tomball. “Without signi cant investments in preventive mental health care, we will continue to see overcrowded jails, increases in violent crime,
substance use-related deaths, sui- cides [and] children struggling with school success,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said during a press con- ference on mental health Aug. 25. Statewide, a 2022 report by Mental Health America ranks Texas last out of 51 states and territories for access to mental health care. As such, local groups such as Montgomery County’s volunteer-based Behavioral Health
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