Meaghan Woodsome

Marketing & Communications
for Nonprofits & Business

Legislative Testimony

LD 842 An Act to Establish Peer Center Reimbursement

Senator Brakey, Representative Gattine, ladies and gentlemen of the committee,

My name is Meaghan Woodsome and I am privileged to serve as the president of the board of directors at Amistad, where we run Maine’s largest peer support and recovery center in Portland. We see roughly 150 people each day at our peer center, and serve many more out in the wider community. I’m also going to shamelessly ride on another’s coat tails by sharing with you that I am the proud daughter of your colleague, Senator Dave Woodsome of District 33.

You have been provided with a summary of the most recent copy of Amistad’s annual member satisfaction survey. I appreciate the opportunity to help contextualize some of these results. The outcomes we measure may seem somewhat simplistic, however they have truly profound implications.

This data is drawn from Amistad’s membership, but the outcomes are similar to those achieved by other peer centers throughout the state. Our members have complex lives. 32% report that their mental health has led them to be arrested or imprisoned. 40% report that they have been told they have a substance abuse problem. 46% report having been hospitalized due to mental illness. 50% report that they do not have a personal doctor or nurse. And 88% report at least one serious medical condition. Life has been hard for many.

But all is not bleak. Our survey result show that 90% of our members report making new friends and 86% report participating in more activities since joining the peer center.

This is remarkable for a number of reasons. Individuals living with serious mental illness face incredible stigma and isolation, often resulting in fractured family and community relationships. We know that people who feel alone and isolated tend to suffer greater physical and emotional ills and that they have limited resources to draw upon in times of crisis. However, 87% of our members report feeling better about themselves as well as taking better care of their physical health as a result of the community they’ve built at Amistad.

If you think of difficulties in your own life – divorce, the loss of a parent, or a job, or an election – what helped you through those challenging times? Most of you will answer friends, family, peers. What would you do if you didn’t have your community to support you?

Too often, individuals with mental illness lack the community support that you may take for granted, and have no other option than to to rely on emergency and crisis services in times of need. This is a very expensive alternative to natural peer supports, and while emergency and crisis services may be life saving, they are not life enriching and do not necessarily minimize future reliance on those services.

Here is the power of peer centers - 73% of our members report calling crisis and emergency services less often because their participation in the peer center. 78% report going to the emergency room less often for mental health support.  At the peer center, people build meaningful relationships that have a profoundly positive impact on their health.

When you compare the cost of a peer center – around $10/day per person – vs. the cost of an emergency room visit, which averages approximately $950 per visit[i], investing in our peer centers is the right thing to do. Peer centers save money and they improve lives.

We are leanly staffed and limited in the number of people we can reach because we have been flat funded for 20 years. Additionally, we’ve recently seen a significant increase in the number of members who are both mentally ill and homeless, with more than 50% reporting living in shelters or on the streets. While these individuals are incredible survivors, they have access to very few resources and present a particular challenge for Amistad.

LD 842 represents an opportunity for the State to wisely invest in the health of both individuals and communities, while reducing the use of costly crisis and emergency services. Peer centers are truly remarkable places. I invite all of you to visit.

References

[i] “Impact of Proposed Budget Cuts to Community-Based Mental Health Services.” Presented to Texas Conference of Urban Counties by Health Management Associates. March 2011. URL: http://www.ttbh.org/Documents/BudgetCutsCommunity.pdf (accessed 1/14/16).

Karaca, Z.; Wong, H.S.; Mutter, R.L. “Duration of Patients' Visits to the Hospital Emergency Department.” BMC Emerg Med. 2012;12(15) URL: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/778084 (accessed 1/13/16).

LINC Wellness Center & Amistad, Inc. “Peer Center Fact Sheet.” Prepared for Maine Legislature, Joint Standing Committee, Health and Human Services. 1/14/16. (Average reimbursement rate of crisis resolution services - $317/hr.)