Mental health levy is an investment in people

A TV commercial of a few years ago attempted to show the importance of routine auto maintenance by having a mechanic look into the camera and advise, "You can pay me now, or pay me later," the implication being that the cost of an oil change today was far less than the cost of replacing a motor somewhere down the road.
We don't seek to imply that human beings are automobiles -- for one thing, people are far more complex than machines, for another, cars can be replaced.
But we would suggest that in dealing with mental illness, society has the same options facing a car owner, pay a little now, or pay a lot later.
And so it is that The Vindicator endorses passage of the 0.85-mill replacement levy that will appear on the countywide ballot Nov. 4 for the Mahoning County Mental Health Board.
For those who are not inclined to vote for this small levy -- at less than a mill, it represents a tiny portion of the average tax bill -- out of compassion for the men, women and children who are suffering with mental illness, they might want to do so because, well, it's cheaper in the long run.
The toll
Consider these national statistics from a recent story by CBS MarketWatch. An estimated 5 to 7 percent of adults have a serious mental illness at any given time, and 5 to 9 percent of children have a serious emotional disturbance. Left untreated, the diseases often lead adults into poverty, or even early death.
The indirect costs associated with mental illness are estimated at $79 billion, plus the loss of productivity connected to untreated conditions accounts for $63 billion, premature death costs $12 billion, and incarceration costs ring in at $4 billion.
Mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability in the United States, with about 80 percent of people with serious mental illness -- chronic medical conditions such as schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder -- among the unemployed.
Against those costs in dollars and human suffering, the Mahoning County levy pales in comparison. It is not a new levy -- the last time a new mental health issue was on the ballot was in 1976. It is a replacement, meaning that the mental health board, which is made up of 18 community volunteers, is asking voters to pass the same .85-mill levy that is due to expire. It is different from a renewal in that under state law, a renewal would have resulted in a reduction of the millage rate to offset growth of the county's tax base in recent years. The replacement levy would raise $3.2 million annually, while the issue due to expire in 2004 produces $1.8 million.
Passage of the replacement levy will mean the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay about $15 more a year. That's about 30 cents a week.
Basically, local taxpayers are being asked to help make up for what mental health agencies are losing and expect to lose as state and federal funds become more scarce.
Pays dividends
Even so, the mental health levy is a good deal for the county because it enables local agencies who are helping county residents access to whatever state and federal funds are available, and those funds, while dwindling, still total in the millions.
In voting for the mental health levy, you'll be supporting more than a dozen agencies -- among them Burdman Group Inc., Meridian Services, Family Service Agency, Catholic Charities, D & amp;E Counseling Center and Parkview Counseling Center -- that provided help to 7.317 people of all races, colors and creeds and all ages. They received crisis intervention, employment services, counseling, medication, residential treatment and hospitalization.
When Mahoning County residents cast their ballots Nov. 4, they can be thinking of the 25 cents a week they might save if they vote against Issue 2. Or they could be thinking of the millions of dollars they'll bring to the county to provide needed services for thousand of their friends, neighbors and relatives. It shouldn't be a difficult choice to vote for the Mahoning County Mental Health Board replacement issue.