The alliance members have combined their resources and have been collaborating to create a system “that keeps people of all ages from falling through the cracks.”

“Each agency has been involved in some way with clients with behavioral needs and realized if we came together, we can better leverage resources… It’s groundbreaking work — there are not many alliances like this where (members) pool their money,” said Program Direct Rochelle Doan.

The strategic planning, focused on mental health and substance abuse, started in the fall 2005. “I started being concerned because I saw the Bush administration was making reductions in Medicaid and Medicare coverage for mental health,“ said Larry Keller, executive director for Kitsap Mental Health Services. “(Those clients) can end up homeless, in the correctional system, a community health clinic or the emergency room. I wanted to get together the leaders of those organizations to see if we can respond to the front door of mental health care getting bigger rather than smaller.”

In addition to Kitsap Mental Health Services, the alliance includes Harrison Medical Center, Kitsap County Juvenile Department, Kitsap County Personnel and Human Services Department, Kitsap County Health District, Peninsula Community Health Services, and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. Keller believes that as the work evolves, other key players will be brought in.

Keller has been the executive director of Kitsap Mental Health Services for nearly three decades and has been recognized as “the catalyst for developing a comprehensive continuum of mental health services for individuals affected by mental illness.” He said that while in the past, his organization and other professionals focused primarily on mental illness, now other issues are addressed at the same time, such as overall health and other disorders, including substance abuse.

“Today’s clients are undeniably more challenging and complex, and the professionals are more sophisticated,” he said. “There are many factors contributing to the complexities presented by today’s client; these include more awareness due to the sophistication and a better understanding of mental and physical health, in general; but I believe the most prominent factor is the insidious influence of substance abuse. Today’s street drugs, especially methamphetamines, are more powerful and destructive than yesterday’s drugs.”

Keller estimates that only about a third of Kitsap’s residents who need mental health services are being treated, and there is a great unmet need for more treatment as well as prevention.

The alliance defines behavioral health as including a full range of mental health concerns and substance abuse such as depression, alcohol and methamphetamine use, and schizophrenia. The group hired a consultant to help with the strategic planning, and has come up with five initial recommendations. Among those, increasing the crisis triage capacity is a priority.

Keller said the involved organizations are already working individually on some of the identified issues, but working on them as a group will bring better success. For example, one of the group’s strategies is to develop early intervention newborn home visiting services — and the health district already has a “Welcome Home Baby” program by the health district that provides visits by nursing staff to a newborn’s home.

“We have to keep working on the behavioral care issues in our community,” Keller said. “We have a lot of work to do, and there will never be enough resources. But we’re pooling our money together, as well as our visions and goals — we’re serious about addressing the issues.”.