MHMRA of Harris County - Annual Report Fiscal 2013-2014 | Page 16

The
consequences
of
untreated mental illness are
expensive for everyone: school
disengagement and failure,
juvenile or criminal justice
involvement,
victimization,
acute
psychiatric
crises,
unemployment, homelessness,
and suicide. Our emergency
rooms and jails paint the picture
of
insufficient
resources.
Ben Taub General Hospital’s
Emergency Room recorded
more than 10,000 psychiatric
crisis episodes in 2014. The
number of mental illnessrelated calls received by the
Houston Police Department
Crisis Intervention Team
(CIT) increased from 10,800
in 2003 to 29,272 in 2013.1

“unmet needs in a variety
of professional areas such as
doctors, psychologists, nurses,
social
workers,
teachers,
skilled in the recognition
and appropriate intervention
techniques for dual diagnosis;
psychiatrists
who
accept
dually diagnosed people into
their practice; time-limited
day program services that
restore mental health in dually
diagnosed people and return
them to mainstream network
providers; respite services to
provide short-term relief for
caregivers; in-home behavioral
training for caregivers to
effectively
manage
the
behaviors associated with
mild symptoms and to
recognize the early stages
of a worsening condition;
training for personnel in the
criminal justice system in the
recognition and proper referral
of these cases.” 6

Individuals with IDD also
require attention and support.
The IDD Needs Council
of Harris County reports

Without supports and services,
people with mental disabilities
have little or no opportunity
to develop to reach their

homeless youth ages 13-14,
over 60 percent of them, also
report having a serious mental
illness, yet less than half of
them received treatment.1

pg. 13 | MHMRA of Harris County

fullest potential in order to
become productive, employed,
contributing members of our
community.
At MHMRA of Harris County,
we continue to prepare to
address the current and future
challenges. We have hired
hundreds of new employees
and acquired new facility space
to better serve our consumers
and their families. We are
also rebranding our identity
to better reflect our mission,
improve access for those in
the community who need
and qualify for our assistance,
and address recent changes in
law pertaining to the use of
“Retardation”. You will read
more about our current efforts
in upcoming publications.
Our commitment to provide
the highest level of integrated
mental health and IDD services
to Harris County Residents
remains strong. But, funding
for mental health and IDD
supports must be maintained
and expanded, because our

population continues to grow.
These conditions are not a
one-time life event. We need
to sustain the supports and
the services necessary over
time. Failure to build upon the
foundation we have established
during these two fiscal years
could have a devastating
impact on individuals, loved
ones, tax payers, and the
community as a whole. The
next step to make sure this
does not occur is to heighten
the understanding of the needs
for these services and supports
for the individuals with mental
disabilities such that they
can enjoy more fulfilling and
participatory lives as part of
our of our community.
Thank you for taking the time
to read this report. We hope
you will join us and the army
of advocates and dedicated
providers in continuing to
Build Brighter Possibilities for
Harris County.