MIYFS Counseling Wait List at All-Time High

Counseling services are at a higher demand than ever before at as the social aid organization grapples with how to handle an unprecedented month-long waiting list of would-be clients. Over the past year-and-a-half, a waiting list of seven or more people seeking counseling has become the norm, said MIYFS project director Derek Franklin, rather than the occasional one or two people.

"Having to wait a month is just unacceptable," Franklin said.

MIYFS staff attributes the increase to economic factors that are putting new stresses on families.

"If a primary-wage earner gets an unexpected layoff or reduction in income, that can translate to marital stress, stress at school, domestic violence and drug and alcohol use," Franklin said.

MIYFS charges for services on a sliding scale, and while the caseload has gone up by about 50 percent, the organization is taking in less money in fees for services, which is another indicator that the people coming are in financial distress.

What's more, Island families finding themselves in such territory for the first time are more unfamiliar with handling financial challenges.

"People just go to their own corners because they're not sure what to say or do about what's scaring them," said counselor Stephen Pults. "We need to help reconnect them and remind them that we're in this together."

Pults, the organization's only full-time counselor, is working extra hours and is booked to capacity. In order to accommodate more clients, some of the administrative duties normally handled by clinical supervisor Gail Erickson have been shifted to other staff members so that she can do more counseling. They have also budgeted additional hours for a part-time middle school drug and alcohol counselor to help at MIYFS two nights a week. The ability to take more concrete measures, like hiring another counselor, will depend on the city's 2011 budget, which is still being debated. But Franklin isn't optimistic.

"The whole city is going through budget cuts, and we're looking at cuts as well," he said. "It's the same old story — when money for services goes down is when the need for services goes up."