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NEW BRITAIN — Amid increasing demand for mental health and substance abuse services, the state is relaunching a grant program to aid nonprofits in enhancing their facilities and upgrading their technology infrastructure.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Wednesday the distribution of $35.5 million to 94 nonprofits in the latest phase of the program.
“It’s been a tough few years. And a lot of folks, especially young people, got disconnected from themselves and from family and from school. A lot of that was reflected … in terms of addiction and mental health issues. And we’re doing everything we can as we look out for each other,” Lamont said at a news conference at the Community Mental Health Affiliates in New Britain.
Community Mental Health Affiliates received two grants, one for $715,000 to purchase a property on Beaver Street to establish supportive housing for people with severe behavioral health issues, and one for $387,000 to renovate the space.
CMHA President and CEO Raymond Gorman told CT Examiner that the property would house 12 people referred from the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services needing intensive support, and provide them with round-the-clock staffing. Gorman said such a program would free up space in local hospitals and alleviate the “logjams” in emergency rooms.
He expressed optimism that a dozen individuals will be living in the building by Oct. 1.
Czes Dzierlatka, lead peer navigator at CMHA, said the space would significantly impact individuals for whom housing is often an obstacle to recovery.
“One of the biggest stressors you get — like anybody gets — is just housing,” he said. “If we can take that weight off of them, to me, it’s like they can do anything.”
Dzierlatka, a New Britain native, became a client of the nonprofit seven years ago after several unsuccessful attempts to find help at other facilities, which he described as having a revolving door mentality.
However, the workers at CMHA were willing to spend as much time with Dzierlatka as needed and showed genuine care, he said. That kept him going.
“Someone treated me like a person when I never thought I could be treated like a person,” he said.
Now a peer navigator, Dzierlatka sees opioid use, steep housing costs, and mental health issues like depression and feeling “stuck” as primary challenges in the community. He said he sees his role as a bridge, leveraging his personal experience to reassure those hesitant about seeking help that overcoming their struggles is possible.
“There is hope out there. And a lot of times we get clients coming in, people coming in, and they feel like there’s no hope, that them coming here is not going to work. They’ve been here, they’ve been there — that’s when I step in,” he said.
The demand for CMHA’s services has skyrocketed, according to Gorman.
He said that their children’s unit has expanded from part of a floor to an entire floor, and his staff is now working evenings and weekends in an effort to keep up with the demand for outpatient services.
Treating the children, Gorman said, also means treating their families.
“In the course of the conversations and the treatment, they’re finding out that the family is worried that they’re going to lose their housing because they can no longer afford the rent because rents have escalated. So it’s systemwide. There is no one solution,” he said.
Nonprofits have consistently sought increased funding from the state, requesting a 9% bump in 2024 and 7% in 2025. However, they ultimately received 2.5% annual increases.
They have also asked for Medicaid rate increases, which a recent study found are lower in Connecticut compared to many surrounding states. Several Democratic lawmakers are pushing the state to raise Medicaid rates for behavioral health providers this year, despite the governor’s desire to wait until the remainder of the study is completed in 2025.
On Wednesday, Lamont noted that the two-year budget approved in 2023 increased funding to nonprofits by about 40%. But he also acknowledged that the organizations have been chronically underfunded for a long time.
“I understand … that coming after 15 years of underfunding not-for-profits, we still have some work to do. The need is dramatic. I think we’re making a big commitment trying to put our money where our mouth is,” Lamont said.
State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and State Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, chairs of the legislature’s Budget Committee, said last week that they wanted to deposit federal coronavirus relief dollars and “carry forward dollars” into a fund aimed at supporting higher education and nonprofits.
Lamont also said he was still negotiating with legislators about the budget.
“You’ve got to set priorities when it comes to a budget,” he said. “You can’t have everything as a priority, but this is a priority for me. Nonprofits are very important for people not only to survive, but to thrive.”
According to Claudio Gualtieri, senior policy advisor to the secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the 94 nonprofits who recently received grants represent approximately half of those who applied. The grant amount ranged from $43,000 to over $1 million.
Meanwhile, Dzierlatka credits CMHA with saving his life. A few years ago, he won a scholarship for the work he does with the community, and began attending Tunxis Community College. Now at age 44, he’s enrolling at Central Connecticut State University to pursue a degree in social work and hopes to open his own sober house one day.
“I’m happy. It’s a good life. It’s amazing. It really is,” he said.