Letter to the editor: Mental health services lacking in Westmoreland

I was pleased to read that Westmoreland County received a state grant to expand the mobile crisis unit for mental health emergencies (“Westmoreland County to expand mobile crisis unit for mental health emergencies,” March 1, TribLIVE).

This grant is a much-needed Band-Aid over the giant lack of adequate mental health services in the county. The isolation and economic devastation caused by the pandemic have left people vulnerable and in desperate need. That, combined with the elimination of the de-escalation and stabilization unit in 2018, means those in crisis are policed, hospitalized and discharged with often wrong and insufficient care.

A mobile crisis unit is simply not enough. Bring back a stabilization unit and create a 24/7 center modeled after the Resolve program in Allegheny County. This comprehensive approach would reduce the need for mobile crisis calls and in-patient psychiatric admissions by getting patients the help they need when they need it.

Instead of relying on state grants as a Band-Aid, Commissioners Doug Chew, Sean Kertes and Gina Cerilli Thrasher can use the county’s American Rescue Plan money to invest in a comprehensive, lifesaving mental health network. I am hopeful they will keep moving the county in a positive direction. The need has never been greater.

Sarah Skidmore

Greensburg