BOURNE, Mass. — Dozens packed a meeting Tuesday night, pushing to keep the Pocasset Mental Health Center open after learning the state plans to close the facility this year due to budget cuts.
“This is going to be a disaster if people have to travel 2 hours away for psychiatric help and then they’re cut off from their providers and their natural supports,” said Jean Calvert-McClure, with the Department of Mental Health.
There’s a total of 36 beds for mental health patients on the Cape and the Islands, and 16 of those beds are at Pocasset.
The other 20 are nearly 30 miles away at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.
“And so to cut nearly half of them would be really disastrous,” said State Senator Dylan Fernandes.
Sen. Fernandes helped organize this meeting to find ways to keep this facility open since he says there’s a major need for mental health services in this area.
“The Cape and Islands, we have acute mental health needs, we have higher rates of suicide here, we have higher rates of addiction and it’s really a geographically isolated area,” said Sen. Fernandes.
Along with closing Pocasset, the state also plans on reducing the number of case managers in the Department of Mental Health.
Calvert-McClure says about 8,000 people rely on these case managers across the state.
“If we cut half of our case managers what’s going to happen to those clients who are already being served and what’s going to happen to the folks coming in the door that also need services? It’s unethical, it’s irresponsible and it’s dangerous,” said Calvert-McClure.
State and local leaders on the Cape say Pocasset is set to close in July unless they can find a way to keep it open before then.
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