When times are bad, good people respond

One of the definitions of the word "lifeline" is, "any rope fastened where it may be clutched by persons in danger of being swept away and drowned." How appropriate that the word is part of the name of an agency in Trumbull County that is committed to helping people.
Trumbull LifeLines, formerly the Trumbull County Board of Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health, provides clinical services to about 10,000 residents each year and preventive services for about 20,000 through 28 programs. Nearly two out of three of those receiving help are children or teenagers. Without such assistance and guidance, these troubled youngsters could well become troubled adults.
And such adults are a drain on a community. The social and economic costs are much greater than the cost of providing care when problems are first detected.
Trumbull LifeLines is mandated to provide countywide planning, coordination and evaluation of alcohol, drug and mental health services in the county, but it cannot meet that mandate without adequate funding. For the past 18 years, the agency's baseline revenue has come from a 1-mill property tax, but it has had to go out and seek additional funds from the state and federal governments in order to address the growing demand for services. In the good old days -- the days before the collapse of the national economy -- every local dollar raised through the property tax generated $4 in matching money.
Homeland security
But with the surplus in the federal budget all but gone, with homeland security and the war in Iraq now top spending priorities and with the state of Ohio facing a $4 billion general fund shortfall in the next biennium, Washington and Columbus can no longer be depended upon to help LifeLines.
Hence, the headline for this editorial: "When times are bad, good people respond." At least that's what we're hoping will occur on Nov. 5 when Trumbull County residents go to the polls and are asked to approve an additional 1-mill levy for this important agency.
The levy was rejected last November and then was barely defeated in the May primary election. We sincerely hope that the voters have had a chance to think about the services and help provided by LifeLines and have come to the conclusion, as we have, that a few dollars a month is a small price to pay for easing the pain and suffering of so many in the community.
The $3 million that would be raised by the 1-mill, 10-year levy would be used to restore services cut in the last year and to fund new programs. In 2001, a reduction in state funding resulted in $1.5 million being slashed from LifeLines' $15 million budget. Officials anticipating another $1 million less from the state this year.
We urge Trumbull County voters to throw LifeLines a lifeline.