I entered the mental health field because I had a brother who suffered from mental illness. I watched, helplessly, as I attempted to obtain the help he desperately needed and witnessed first hand how mental health agencies took advantage of his situation. My brother died in 2009 while obtaining services from an agency who failed him during his final stage of life. I also lost my father to suicide when I was 2 years old because there were no services for him to seek, and, if there were, the stigma of mental illness would have prevented him from doing so. Therfore, I, more than most, scream the loudest for mental health reform. However, this is not about my family or about the failures of the system. This is about thousands of individuals that depend on MHSS to LIVE--not just to have a "companion" or transportation, as skills-building services have been accused of. However, when reading some of these comments, it is clear what the true problem is here---LACK OF FOCUS!! I have read so many comments that have focused on lost revenue and on slamming "other agencies." What about the client?? While some are busy addressing trivial things related to the changes, we have clients who are at risk of DYING!! This lack of focus is what has led to the need for regulation. On the other hand, many of you continue to have the right focus and have well advocated for what is important--the loss of services to clients who desperately need them. While I agree that regulation is very necessary at this point, discontinuing services for clients or being so restrictive about who receives them is not the way. The only questions I have to those making the changes--What is the price of a life? What if it was your loved one on the cutting block? Would that affect your decisions? Think of your own child, mother, or brother. If you thought you would find them lying dead somewhere, what desperate measures would you take to save them? THAT is how we feel about each one of our clients that we have to look in the eye and tell them that they no longer "meet the criteria" for assistance, which they interpret to mean that their lives are no longer valuable.

P.S I think it is important to note here that I have no hidden agenda, even though I am a current provider. I have decided that if this is the best Virginia can do to "help" those in desperation, if the best we can do is bicker, argue, engage in power struggles, slam others, and place emphasis on the almighty dollar instead of dying individuals,  I graciously bow out.  I sincerely hope everyone involved makes the right decisions and that you never know how it feels to bury someone early due to the lack of quality services and/or "red tape bureaucracy". 

 Sincerely,  Carla S. Yopp/Owner-Trinity Support Services, LLC