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Tuesday, Feb. 02, 2010

Houses of Blues: Banding together in rough times

Foreclosure crisis impacts emotions, physical health

Mercedians need to band together to overcome the financial and emotional toll of the foreclosure crisis in Merced County, local leaders agree.

In response to the Sun-Star's "Houses of Blues" series on the emotional and physical fallout of foreclosures, leaders here are encouraging residents to lift up the area by supporting small businesses, advocating for mental health services, mobilizing to help others in need or simply lending an ear to a friend in crisis.

Merced Mayor Bill Spriggs said mental health programs were often targeted by the budget-slicing pens of state leaders. "There are probably never enough mental health services," he said. "When budgets get tight, unfortunately mental health typically does not rise to the top of the list."

Like other counties, however, Merced has suffered severe cuts in mental health funding. Manuel Jimenez, director of the Merced County Department of Mental Health, said that after losing nine counselors to budget cuts, his remaining counselors are seeing more patients, a tough job in the best of circumstances. "Imagine coming in at 8 a.m. and hearing people's terrible stories, and an hour after that you're hearing more terrible stories, and an hour after that, someone else's woes," Jimenez said.

"We just need a reliable source of funding that's consistent and constant. I don't know where you get it. What's the word -- Utopia? -- someplace where it's all nice and fair," he said.

Merced County Supervisor Hub Walsh said the problem is nearly out of local leaders' hands.

"We have concern that so much mental health funding is tied to the state -- and that funding is in turn tied to the state economy," Walsh said. "It is my experience that during tough economic times, stressors increase."

He's also the county's representative to the California State Association of Counties, the main county government lobby in the state. Walsh said Merced will be lobbying for mental health funding at the state level generally, but not specifically about foreclosures.

"There were still needs in mental health services before, and every service they can provide, renew, will make a difference for the community as a whole," he said. "When the state starts looking for cuts, mental health should be spared. It has taken its share of cuts already."

Spriggs and Walsh said addressing the sources of a poor economy would help improve mental health tied to foreclosure issues here. "We need to attack the cause -- and the cause is unemployment. We need to redouble our efforts to attract business," Spriggs said. "We've been working aggressively, very aggressively, to get the high-speed rail maintenance facility. That's 1,500 jobs."

Walsh said leaders should focus on keeping small businesses afloat and flush with local workers.

He added that a little camaraderie could also go a long way. "I would encourage all of us to find a confidant, find a person we can share these stressful feelings with," Walsh said. "It's healthy, they may be able to help you or steer you toward a new resource you didn't know about. We need to remind people that it is not helpful to keep these things locked away."

County mental health workers said that affected homeowners are trapped by two kinds of stigmas -- that of financial distress and losing their homes, and that of suffering mental health problems.

Residents often struggle in isolation, rather than having the community rally around them, said Elizabeth Morrison, clinical director of behavioral health services at Golden Valley Health Center.

"We really haven't seen a response as a community to a community. I think because it's like foreclosure: it's long and it's drawn out. Nobody knew how bad it was going to be or how bad it is going to get," Morrison said.

Some community leaders wondered how, in the face of state budget cuts, the Merced community could rally to help its own. Jimenez said that his father used to tell him about how, in the poor community of Shafter, Texas, residents would rally to build a church: "So someone who had a few two-by-fours would bring them, someone brought a hammer, someone brought some nails."

That could hold some lessons for Merced, Jimenez said: "Everyone needs to reach in, grab a little of what they can and help out a little bit."

Others agreed.

"We need to be able to say this is a shared issue and ask what resources can I bring to help. It might be a spiritual resource, with a support system like a church that's really solid," said Pastor Jay Pierce at the United Methodist Church of Merced.

Ben Duran, president of Merced College, suggested that residents should join together to share their stories and help others out.

"One secret is neighbor-to-neighbor relations. It's creating a sense of community," Duran said. "Start by creating focus groups, groups made of people who have suffered and people who have weathered the storm, people who can say, we're still here. I think the elected officials do care, but I think those who have gone through it can really make a difference for those who may be beginning to go through it."

Duran said the college has been "devastated" by the housing crisis here. "I hope we never see anything like this again," he concluded.

The clear consensus for now, though, is that Mercedians must help one another.

Reporter Danielle E. Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.