Queen Anne’s County residents accessing Crossroads Community’s network of mental health recovery resources will benefit from grants awarded by the Queen Anne’s County Mental Health Committee (QACMHC). Two 2015 grants will fund several initiatives supporting clinic and residential services offered by Crossroads Community and its clinic, Corsica River Mental Health Services.
“Serving the uninsured and underinsured is a challenge to any organization whose mission is to provide service regardless of the ability to pay,” according to Crossroads Community Executive Director John Plaskon. Corsica River Mental Health Services clinics offer a sliding-fee scale to the uninsured, based on income and family size. One QACMHC grant will assist up to six individuals with various therapeutic needs.
Queen Anne’s County Mental Health Committee board members recently presented a check to Crossroads Community representatives as a grant in support of Crossroads’ mental health services to Queen Anne’s County residents. Left to right, Corsica River Mental Health Services Board President Roger Harrell; QACMHC Board Members Debbie Dean, Marybeth Downes, Amy Brice and Linda Carroll; and Crossroads Community Executive Director John Plaskon and Board President Dan Rosendale.
The same grant will benefit children in the clinic’s school-based program. Funding mobile computing systems for clinicians who work with children in the schools and off site in summer programs will promote efficiency and accuracy through real-time documentation of services.
A second grant awarded to Crossroads Community by QACMHC will benefit the organization’s Adopt-A-House in Queen Anne’s County initiative.
About thirty Queen Anne’s County residents live in facilities and apartments with various levels of independence through the help of Crossroads Community. Plaskon noted that a significant component in the mental health recovery process is the living environment, where pride in one’s residence, however transitional for the client, is important to self-esteem.
Over the years, funding for the residences has been targeted primarily to renovations, maintenance and safety issues. The quality of the furnishings was a lesser priority, which could unintentionally make residents feel unworthy of anything better.
Last year, with support from QACMHC, Crossroads Community began the Adopt-A-House program, with a plan to provide all its houses in Queen Anne’s County with new furnishings over a five-year period. This latest grant continues QACMHC’s support for the program and will completely furnish one of the residences.
Plaskon expressed his appreciation to Queen Anne’s County Mental Health Committee for its continued support for Crossroads Community and its clients. “Recovery from mental illness is a journey,” he said. “We can offer help along that journey, but cannot do it alone. Queen Anne’s County Mental Health Committee, and our other donors and funders, are critical to our being able to provide the support our clients need to become independent, productive members of the community. We are grateful for that support.”
Crossroads Community offers access to mental health recovery resources to residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties. Its Corsica River Mental Health Services clinics are located in Centreville, Cambridge and St. Michaels. For more information, to make a donation or to volunteer, contact Crossroads Community at 410-758-3050 or visit its website, www.ccinconline.com.
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