Published: October 19, 2007 10:41 am      

United Way contributes funds to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers of Southern Oklahoma, located at 111 E. 12th St., has been providing services for the Ada area since the 1950s.

“We provide behavioral health services, counseling - individual and group, rehab - individual and group. We have a medication clinic which is where we have a psychiatrist that comes in and provides psychotropic medication for those who need them. Our psychiatric rehabilitation program is a day program from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. This program enables individuals to learn new living and social skills,” said Terry Goodwin, executive director of MHSACSO.

MHSACSO is a non-profit agency that provides mental health care and chemical dependency treatment to nine counties in South Central Oklahoma. Other services include screening and assessment, emergency crisis intervention, outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment, case management, day treatment, children/adolescent programs, aging programs, chemical dependency treatment, consultation, education, and prevention.

“We deal with co-occurring issues such as mental health problems and substance abuse problems,” said Goodwin. “The vast majority of people we see suffer from a wide range of emotional disturbances.” Some of the specific problems that MHSACSO deals with are marital and family problems, depression, physical and sexual abuse, severe mental illness, chemical dependency, emotional disturbances, and stress related problems.

MHSACSO is contracted through the Department of Mental Health and their fees are income based. “If someone is unable to pay for the medicine prescribed by our psychiatrist we either buy it or we sign them up with a patient assistance program which is where we get medicine from the pharmaceutical companies. Last year we were able to provide $960,254.92 in indigent medications from the pharmaceutical companies. If the individual meets the indigent criteria we will treat them at no charge and it’s billed to the contract we have with the Department of Mental Health. Of the people we see, 75 percent are considered to be indigent status. We currently have 679 active clients,” Goodwin said.

MHSACSO also receives funding from the Ada Regional United Way. “United Way means a lot to this agency. We use the majority of those funds for the indigent medication program. If someone has applied for assistance through Medicaid or Medicare and are waiting on that, the United Way funds help us to provide them with the medication they need while they are waiting for their assistance to start.”

Goodwin encourages those who think they may need to seek help to not be afraid or embarrassed. She stated it is very common for people to feel that way. “You’re always in the right place at the right time when you come into our agency,” said Goodwin. “Don’t be afraid. If you need help, we are here.”