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The Marblehead Counseling Center, which says its policy is never to turn anyone away, will start its annual Friends and Family Campaign in November. The goal is to raise $125,000 by the end of the year.
According to the center’s release, funding from the town, health insurance and payments from clients who can afford out-of-pocket costs together cover about 75 percent of the center’s annual operating budget. The other 25 percent comes from donations and fundraising. The release did not give the size of the operating budget, so the base figure needed to turn those shares into dollar amounts was not provided.
The center said the campaign will support its current services and a planned expansion of its group counseling and telehealth programs.
The release pointed to rising pressure on residents. It said Massachusetts recorded the highest health care costs in the nation this year and that one in three Essex County seniors is experiencing food insecurity. It also said 30 percent of Massachusetts adults who need mental health care did not get treatment because of cost. The release did not cite sources for those figures or say how many adults the 30 percent represents.
Ruth Ferguson, president of the center’s Board of Directors, said that one in three Marblehead residents ages 18 to 49 report their mental health is a form of ongoing stress. She also cited research, which the release did not identify, finding that every dollar spent on community-based mental health treatment returns $4 through lower health care, disability and criminal justice costs.
“Be on the lookout for our Friends and Family postcards in the mail,” Ferguson said. “Help us support our neighbors, our community, and a healthy future with your donations, no matter how small.”
A group of Marblehead residents founded the center in 1969 to address substance abuse and mental health problems such as depression and family upheaval. Today it offers individual, group and family therapy to people in Marblehead, Swampscott and other North Shore communities. Its social services arm connects residents with help for food insecurity, domestic abuse, housing crises and other needs. The town’s funding supports services for residents and town employees.
The center is a licensed mental health clinic and a registered Massachusetts 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so contributions are tax-deductible. Donations can be made at www.marbleheadcounseling.org/donate.
