The City of Phoenix focuses on strengthening mental health care

It is apparent that the long-lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Arizonan’s mental health has been relegated as life returns back to normal. This is exactly why the City of Phoenix is working on a program that strives to provide people with accessible behavioral health support. 

In March 2022, the Phoenix City Council approved $9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from the federal government to help assist uninsured and underinsured Phoenix residents. The city chose to partner with the local nonprofit Mercy Care to help delegate services and support for Arizonans. 

“Behavioral health issues continue to be a priority for the City of Phoenix,” said Scott Hall, the City of Phoenix Special Projects Administrator for the Homeless Services Division, when discussing what prompted the initiative to focus on strengthening accessibility for disadvantaged groups in Phoenix. 

In order to effectively launch their proposed program, the City of Phoenix chose to partner with the nonprofit. “Because Mercy Care administers many other federal grants through AHCCCS, Arizona’s Medicaid agency, we have experience in this activity,” said Laurie Munn, Mercy Care’s Director of Marketing and Communications.

In a separate interview, Hall also noted that Mercy Care’s experience working with health providers made them the “obvious choice.”

The collaboration funded by the ARPA grant was set to begin in the spring and has now been officially active for the last few months as contracts and resources have been finalized.

“You always want to make sure you put it out right,” Hall said when discussing the process it took to finally get the program up and running. “If someone tries to obtain the resources of the services, and they come up against roadblocks because you didn't implement it properly. Now it might deter that person from using it in the future.”

Mercy Care Chief Clinical Officer, Blythe FitzHarris, also touched on where the program currently stands and how Mercy Care is utilizing their network of providers to do outreach in Arizona communities. “I think we’re still a little bit in the early phases of that. Individuals have started to begin being served and we have some standard deliverables that we report up to the City of Phoenix,” said FitzHarris. “I expect the word of mouth to get more.” 

“I hope it really gets to those that are uninsured and underinsured who haven’t been trying to get these resources because they didn’t think they were obtainable and I also hope it starts serving those that are suffering from opioid addiction,” said Hall. Both FitzHarris and Hall shared similar ideas on how the lack of knowledge on what resources are available to Arizonans hinders eligible residents from procuring support.

In a recent report from the Mental Health Million Project 2021, around 37% of individuals in the United States did not seek behavioral health support because they simply did not know where to look and what to look for. Within a long-list of providers Mercy Care has partnered with for the ARPA grant, there are several organizations and centers that are engaging in community outreach efforts. FitzHarris discussed Mercy Care navigators who show up to local events alongside various providers in order to ensure that anyone who may qualify for assistance knows where to look for those resources. 

By meeting Arizonans where they are, Mercy Care is eliminating barriers for people who are in need of proper behavioral health care. Any resident of Phoenix that does not qualify for another type of insurance is eligible for services and partnered providers like Valle Del Sol and Southwest Behavioral Health are open for adults and children. 

The COVID-19 pandemic may have instigated more conversation around what can be done to service the vast communities in Phoenix, but the need for behavioral and mental health resources has always been present and will continue to be. Similar programs and grants to the ARPA funded one with Mercy Care and the City of Phoenix are major stepping stones towards better care for Arizona.