
DATE: Friday, September 19, 1997            TAG: 9709190846

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER  

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  157 lines

USERS OF SERVICES WORRY ABOUT CONSOLIDATION PLAN

Many people would not feel comfortable walking into Beach House.

But Eric Voliva does. It is, in fact, the only place where the neat, soft-spoken 24-year-old feels completely at ease.

Located inside an office building off Lynnhaven Parkway, Beach House is a club for adults who have been diagnosed with a serious, long-term mental illness. Schizophrenia, perhaps, or bipolar depression.

It is known as a psychosocial rehabilitation program, a place where people who are often misunderstood can gather to learn and socialize.

And it is one of a variety of facilities operated by the Virginia Beach Community Services Board, the agency responsible for meeting the needs of mentally retarded, mentally ill and substance-abusing citizens.

One of Beach House's strengths, its supporters argue, is that it is physically separate from the clinical services provided to the mentally ill.

All of that would change, however, under a planned move of Community Services Board programs, including Beach House, to a central site on Bonney Road.

The board's planned move has come under fire because of increased costs that surprised City Council members, but Voliva and other clients have other concerns.

``I suffer from paranoid-schizophrenia,'' he explained. ``I feel safe at Beach House the way it is now. When I get with a lot of people I don't know, I'm afraid that my paranoia and (that of) a lot of others would increase.''

Voliva is not alone. Many consumers worry about mixing in one building such diverse people - drug users and the mentally retarded, for example.

They also worry that the cost of the new facility, now projected at $17.2 million, would affect services, and they are upset about the manner in which decisions on the property have been made.

``I worry about the mixing of populations,'' said Martha Thereault, an advocate for people with disabilities. ``You have people who have physical disabilities, who are medically frail in the same building with substance abusers. I don't think that's a very good idea.''

Plans call for at least four other day programs besides Beach House to be located on the Bonney Road site:

Skillquest, a support program for mentally retarded adults.

A 24-hour-a-day detox center for substance abusers.

A day-support program for substance abusers.

A mental-health day-treatment program for the frail elderly.

A mental health and substance-abuse medical clinic also would be included at the Bonney Road site, as would all administrative, counseling, case management and educational services operated by the Community Services Board.

Ideally, clients and families agree, each of the day programs and some of the other services would have separate buildings on the Bonney Road property or at least separate entrances. But that likely would raise the estimated costs, which have risen from the $12 million approved by the City Council in December to $17.2 million.

Community Services Board Executive Director Dennis I. Wool has been asked to appear before the City Council Tuesday to explain how that happened.

Clients, however, have questions of their own after learning that the board has decided to tear down the existing buildings on Bonney Road - a six-story hotel, a retail furniture store and a private residence - and build a new facility.

Wool said this week that clients' concerns about the mix of populations is premature.

``That design work hasn't happened yet,'' he said, adding that the architect, Paul Finch and Associates, was experienced in designing buildings for differing populations.

``He did the work on Chesapeake General Hospital's Cancer Center and (the different services) all have separate entrances. They're bubbles off the main hospital,'' Wool said. ``If I thought for a minute that everybody would walk through the same door, then I'd have to say, `Shame on us.' ''

For Brian McSally, the most troubling issue is whether the money for the new building could be better used to serve consumers.

He is president of the Virginia Beach chapter of the Mental Health Consumers Association. ``Where's the money going to come from to make the payments?'' he said.

The board's plan calls for using $3.2 million from a contingency fund to make a down payment on the property.

McSally, who has been a member of Beach House since 1990 and has received services from the Community Services Board since 1986, also questions how more than $2 million has built up in the fund since 1993-94.

``Why is there a contingency fund when there's such a waiting list for services?'' he asked.

Linda Powell, executive director of the state Mental Health Consumers' Association, agreed.

``Currently there are waiting lists for services at Beach House, for housing and for employment training,'' she said. ``Those are three aspects that lead a person back to self-sufficiency. That's what taxpayers and consumers want.

``I have a real problem with putting so much money into bricks and mortar when there are so many in need of services. The folks on waiting lists and folks not served are not going away. If they're not served they will be on the streets, in the social services offices and in the neighborhoods.''

Wool denies that services will be curtailed.

``This does not mean any cutback in services,'' he said. ``In the front years (of the 20-year mortgage), there is no question that the cost of debt service is higher than renting, but beyond the fifth, sixth, seventh year, you begin to see the curve bending in the opposite direction.''

The board spends about $552,000 a year renting office space for many of its services. The mortgage on the new property, including land and construction, is expected to be about $1.18 million a year.

Many in the human services field agree with Wool.

``We searched for eight years for new space, then concluded we couldn't afford to lease anymore,'' said Charles A. Hall, executive director of the Hampton Newport News Community Services Board. Many of that board's operations, including its clubhouse program, are housed in an eight-story former bank in downtown Newport News. ``It's working beautifully,'' he said.

Still, dissatisfaction is widespread about the manner in which the Virginia Beach Community Services Board staff and members made decisions concerning the purchase.

Although no staff and few consumers were willing to speak about that issue on the record, Thereault summed up the feelings of many, especially in the mental retardation community.

``We've been knocking on (the Community Services Board's) door, asking to be involved for more than a year and half,'' she said. ``It's always been, `There, there, we're handling it.' It's like there's this Wall of China between us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

STEVE EARLEY, The Virginian-Pilot

Eric Voliva...

Graphic

THE VIRGINIA BEACH COMMUNITY SERVICES BOARD\ What is it? A board

of 15 citizens appointed by City Council to oversee mental health,

mental retardation and substance abuse services. It is one of 40

such boards that were mandated by state law in the 1970s.

Who are the major players? Donald V. Jellig, president of Sentara

Enterprises, is board chairman. Priscilla M. Beede, citizen

activist, is vice chairman. J. Henry McCoy, a dentist and former

mayor, chairs the board's building committee. Dennis I. Wool, who

oversees a staff of about 400 city employees, is the executive