South Central Alabama Mental Health Center was awarded grant funds by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to tackle the disparities in mental health care within Covington County.

SCAMHC gets $1 million annually during the coming four years in order to improve access to mental health services and treatment for addiction.

There is a huge demand for services within Covington County. Around 20 percent of residents in the county say they are suffering from frequent mental illness approximately 9,000 people living in Andalusia are struggling with addiction issues. Accessing more mental health services could create a significant and positive change in the community as well as the individuals who reside within it.

As a condition of this budget, SCAMHC will become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. CCBHC is a federally-funded program that began in 2014 and expanded later in 2020. The program is designed to identify organizations that provide complete mental health services and grants them funding to improve access to care. The CCBHCs must meet the following requirements to obtain the status of certification:

  • Plans for staffing that are focused on local requirements
  • Accessing quickly and effectively to addiction and mental health services
  • Involving the community by means of outreach
  • Emergency services are available 24 hours a day.
  • Accepting all patients regardless of their financial ability or the location in which they live.
  • Coordinating the care of other providers
  • Management of Quality Improvement
  • Inclusion of customers in the decision-making process within the company
  • Accreditation requirements of the state.

“The CCBHC philosophy of care is a reinforcement of many current notions of care offered by the South Central Alabama Mental Health Board including improving access to care by providing care to anyone who needs it regardless of their financial capacity. It also provides concepts like 24/7/365 access to crisis assistance and mobile crisis teams, increasing the number of crisis hotlines and a greater utilization of evidence-based practices as well as medication-assisted treatments. We look at working together in partnership with SAMHSA along with the Alabama Department of Mental Health to bring this idea of local care in the area we serve, which is Covington, Butler, Coffee and Crenshaw counties.” stated SCAMHC executive director Tommy Wright.

SCAMHC is proud of its dedication to South Central Alabama. The employees at SCAMHC are motivated by a shared goal of having a positive effect on the lives of people and families living in our communities. SCAMHC provides a variety of services designed to meet the specific mental health needs of every person. This funding offers the chance to bring about significant changes in SCAMHC which will strengthen and enhance their capacity to provide services to those who need it.

To learn more, go to www.scamhc.org.

The article SCAMHC is awarded one million dollars in grants funds was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.