AWAKEN THE GREATNESS WITHIN Always look at the solution, not the problem Learn to focus on what will give results We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem

1. STATE OF HAWAII
MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT
GOVERNOR NEIL ABERCROMBIE
Act 221 – Governor's Message 1324
GOVERNOR DAVID Y. IGE
Hawaii Council On Mental Health
HAWAII'S MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Honolulu Civil Beat
JUDGE GUY HERMAN CENTER
FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS CARE
St. David's Foundation – Integral Care
Travis County – Austin, Texas
_______________________________________________________________
GOVERNOR NEIL ABERCROMBIE
Act 221 – SB 310 SD 2 HD 2 CD 1
Governor's Message 13241
The legislature fnds that:
(1) Hawaii has identifed serious problems of high incarceration and
hospitalization rates of those with severe mental illness;
(2) Assisted community treatment provides an opportunity for people with
severe mental illness to be treated in the least restrictive setting; and
(3) Assisted community treatment reduces the trend towards criminalizing
mental illness.
Individuals with severe mental illness often cycle between homelessness,
emergency room treatment, incarceration, and hospitalization. This situation
refects a failure to provide needed treatment to persons who may need it most
and that failure is extremely costly. However, the legislature fnds that the
situation can be mitigated if individuals are assisted in being treated in the
community.
1 Capitol Hawaii.gov https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2013/bills/GM1324_.pdf

2. GOVERNOR DAVID Y. IGE
Hawaii Council On Mental Health2
Governor Ige is committed to a 21st century health system that improves access,
treatment, and afordability for all Hawaii residents. Dedicated funding and increased
focus on mental health treatment so those afected, including the homeless population
can achieve optimum recovery and functioning in the community.3
The mission of the Hawaii State Council on Mental Health is to advocate for a Hawaii
where all persons afected by mental illness can access treatment and support
necessary to live a full life in the community of their choice.
The Council’s directives include:
 Serving as an advocate for adults diagnosed with a severe mental illness, for
children and youth diagnosed with serious emotional disturbance;
 Advising the state mental health authority on issues of concern, policies and
programs;
 Providing guidance to the mental health authority in the development and
implementation of the state mental health systems;
 Monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the allocation and adequacy of mental
health services within the state.
_______________________________________________________________
HAWAII'S MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Honolulu Civil Beat
EMERGENCY HELP FOR HAWAII'S MENTALLY ILL
IS OFTEN A REVOLVING DOOR
Hundreds of people taken by police to the hospital for psychiatric care
go on to repeated hospitalizations or brushes with the law
By Brittany Lyte. Honolulu Civil Beat
October 25, 2018, Accessed October 28, 2018
https://www.civilbeat.org/2018/10/emergency-help-for-hawaiis-mentally-ill-is-often-a-revolving-door/
2 Hawaii State Council on Mental Health http://scmh.hawaii.gov/
3 Ballotpedia https://ballotpedia.org/David_Ige#.W9X0e41j-p4.email

3. This story is part of an ongoing series looking at problems facing Hawaii's
mental health system and possible solutions.
It's a knotty problem that’s overwhelming emergency rooms and raising
questions about the state's lack of mental health resources and the merits of
protecting a person’s civil liberty to refuse psychiatric treatment — even when
they're too sick to recognize they are sufering from mental illness.
On Oahu, there are a growing number of emergencies in which police ofcers
send a person with mental illness to a local hospital for psychiatric treatment,
according to the report published this year by a collaboration of police and
health care agencies.
These hospitalizations occur after a police ofcer consults with an on-call police
psychologist. Often they happen against the patient's will.
The report revealed that one-ffth of citizens who come into contact with a
Honolulu police ofcer consulting with a psychologist go on to become
involved in at least two, and as many as 20, additional police encounters.
More than 200 people who were assisted by a police ofcer working with a
psychologist in the frst half of 2017 were taken to the hospital against their will
two or more times.
The report's conclusion: people with the most severe cases of mental illness
aren't getting the help they need.
People are dying from it.
— Institute for Human Services Executive Director Connie Mitchell
You're taking away their civil liberties by doing this.
— Howie Klemmer, Queen's Emergency Medicine Chief
When there's a lost dog we treat them better than we treat people like this.
— Marya Grambs, former Executive Director of Mental Health America of Hawaii

4. Judge Guy Herman Center
For Mental Health Crisis Care
St. David's Foundation – Integral Care
Travis County – Austin, Texas
The Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis will provide emergency
services to people sufering a mental health crisis in Travis County. The goal is
to get those sufering a crisis out of local hospitals and emergency rooms
and into this facility to provide short term care and resources.
“We are the only type of facility that accepts folks on emergency
detentions that's in a non-hospital setting in the county,” says Laura Slocum,
practice administrator at Integral Care.
This is not a walk-in type facility, patients have to be referred by the police
department, mobile crisis outreach teams, or a local emergency room. The
goal is for someone to stay a few days and receive psychiatric care,
counseling, and help from a case worker who can fnd services that will
support this person once they get back into the community.
“The idea is most mental health crisis can resolve in the frst 48 hours of
them beginning, so we want to quickly stabilize people so we can get them
on that path to recovery and back out into the community as soon as
possible, avoiding a hospital stay which tends to be lengthier and more
expensive,” says Slocum.
The facility, which is located at 6600 E. Ben White Blvd., is for adults only
and Slocum says the need is so great they expect to see 1,200 patients
within the frst year and will treat someone regardless of their ability to
pay or if they have insurance.
Last year, the Austin Police Department responded to 12,000 mental health
calls. Many times they receive repeat calls because it's been found
emergency rooms and jails are not equipped to treat mental health crisis.
By this summer, APD has already responded to 6,700 mental health calls
this year.

5. “We really had this missing link in the crisis continuum of care in Travis
County,” says Slocum. “We didn't have any facility that wasn't a hospital for
those on an emergency detention or a psychiatric commitment, so this flls
a critical gap in our crisis continuum of care by providing a really intensive
level of care in a non-hospital setting.”4
[Emphasis Supplied]
_____________________
Operated by Integral Care, the Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health
Crisis Care helps address Travis County's lack of adequate access to emergency
psychiatric services and helps support frst responder and emergency
healthcare services by creating a new point of access for crisis care. The center
is the result of a collaboration of local healthcare organizations, including St.
David's Foundation and Central Health.
A workgroup convened by Central Health beginning in 2005, known as the
Psychiatric Services Stakeholder Committee (which includes St. David’s
Foundation, Seton Healthcare Family, Integral Care, Central Health, the Austin
Police Department, local judges, and mental health professionals), identifed
this collaborative community solution to respond to the need for enhanced
crisis services.
The crisis center is modeled after Burke, the mental health emergency center in
Lufkin, Texas, which opened in 2008 and is a recognized best practice. In
2013, St. David's Foundation hosted a “feld trip” to Lufkin for local mental
health stakeholders to visit the site and determine if this model would help
address needs in Travis County. The consensus was that this model would fll a
critical gap in the local mental health safety net. St. David's Foundation began
working with key partners (Integral Care and Central Health) to develop this
community solution to what has been a long standing problem.
4 New mental health crisis center opens in Travis County By Kate Weidaw. KXAN. August 8,
2017, accessed October 28, 2018 https://www.kxan.com/community/health/new-mental-health-crisis-center-
opens-in-travis-county_20180227103551420/994650180

6. St. David's Foundation is funding the project with a grant totaling almost $9
million. This funding covered the majority of construction costs and will cover
a signifcant percentage of the operating costs during the frst two years.
Central Health is making the land available via a low cost (virtually free) long-
term lease. The value of this land is estimated at $1.2 million. Integral Care
raised additional funds from public and private sources.
The Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care ofers the
opportunity to recognize a true advocate in our community – Judge Guy
Herman. For decades, Judge Herman has championed the interests of
individuals living with mental health issues in Travis County. As the local
Probate Judge, Herman is responsible for determining if and when an
individual must be committed involuntarily for psychiatric care. In this role, he
has seen frsthand the needs of individuals experiencing mental illness. He has
continually advocated for improving access to services and improving our local
service delivery system.
ST. DAVID'S FOUNDATION https://stdavidsfoundation.org/
CENTRAL HEALTH https://www.centralhealth.net/
___________________________________
CRITICISM IS ALWAYS EASIER THAN CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS
Jaron Lanier
YOU CAN MAKE A MILLION EXCUSES FOR WHY SOMETHING DIDN'T
GO WELL, BUT ULTIMATELY, JUST FIX IT AND GET ON WITH IT
BE A SOLUTIONS PERSON
Emily Weiss
WHATEVER THE PROBLEM, BE PART OF THE SOLUTION
DON'T JUST SIT AROUND RAISING QUESTIONS
AND POINTING OUT OBSTACLES
Tina Fey