Mental Health Court adds substance abuse treatment services
With the high rates of drug addiction among those in incarceration and the current state of the drug crisis both locally and nationally at the top of many people's minds, the County Court at Law Mental Health Specialty Court, added substance use treatment to the list of resources for the jail diversion program. The court was created last year and is meant to prevent those that have a mental illness that have committed a crime from incarceration through a series of mental health services. Hays County Commissioners Court approved the execution of a $45,000 contract between Evoke Wellness and the specialty court at the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, which sparked a conversation on the need for such services in the community at large and the link between drug addiction and criminal behavior.
Evoke Wellness Outreach Coordinator Sean Flynn said the program does a lot of work with veterans and first responders as well as “everyone in between.” Evoke Wellness is a residential treatment facility, located at 1106 I-35 N. Frontage Rd., that treats substance abuse and co-occurring mental health diagnosis. Evoke Wellness is relatively new having opened its doors in June.
“They go hand in hand,” Flynn said of the connection between mental illness and drug addiction.
Flynn said Evoke Wellness provides detox, residential treatment and Intensive Outpatient Services. Intensive Outpatient is usually covered by most basic insurance plans.
“Intensive Outpatient is typically three hour sessions, three times a week for anywhere between eight weeks and 32 weeks,” Flynn said. “It’s probably the best bang for your buck in terms of recovery because you’re getting nine hours a week of clinical care but also able to do your home life, your work life, etc. We’d love for everyone to be able to do residential, but unfortunately it’s just not the case for everybody, but IOP seems to fit, especially virtually, with a lot of peoples’ lives.”
Mental Health Court Administrator Kaimi Mattila said this contract would ensure that all those in the program are able to access substance use treatment almost immediately. Evoke Wellness is within close proximity to the Hays County Jail and the Hays County Government Center, which aids in the speedy access to recovery.
“For those that have insurance, we will simply make a referral over to Evoke,” Mattila said. “For those that cannot afford their copay, this contract will enable us to cover that copay for them.” Evoke will be offering a special discount on the daily rate of treatment for those in the mental health specialty court program.
“They are also providing five scholarships for those that cannot pay,” Mattila said. “And then beyond those five, if there are still additional people that are needing treatment that can’t afford to pay, then that’s when we’re dipping into the funding ($45,000) to cover either the copay or the full cost of treatment.”
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said he was happy to vote in favor of the execution of the contract.
“I think it’s money well spent, and I think the court agrees. I’d rather see money go to Evoke [Wellness] than outsourcing,” Becerra said. “There’s a high probability that somebody could have a substance abuse problem and end up in our jail, and you can prevent that whole thing. Just the thought of that is very awesome.”
Hays County Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe said she is extremely excited about this program.
“It’s not just to have these individuals participate in the mental health court, it’s also to provide the services that they need,” Ingalsbe said. “We need that continuum of care. This will provide that.”
Hays County Commissioner Lon Shell said that this issue is close to his heart as he has had family members that have struggled with alcohol addiction. He said he also understood the need for substance abuse treatment locally and for jail diversion purposes.
“I understand there’s a high prevalence of that within our jail,” Shell said. “I would imagine that many of those in custody probably suffer from some type of drug or alcohol abuse, and I understand that many times that is the reason they’re there.”
Flynn invited the public to come by for a tour of the facility. Schedule in advance. The phone number to Evoke Wellness is (833)965-2562.
