SACO — Ask Paul Rumery how his experience attending classes at Sweetser for a couple of years in his youth impacted his life, and he does not hesitate.

“Without this program, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today,” said Rumery, a long-time truck driver for Hannaford, vice president of the Maine Professional Drivers Association, and a Master Mason in his lodge. He is heavily involved in the MPDA’s Convoy 4 Kids program that raised funds for Camp Sunshine and Camp Postcard — more than $40,000 in a one-day event in 2022. He is taking classes to become a driving instructor.

Rumery is enthusiastic about Sweetser, where he attended for a couple of years in the early 90s when he was in grades 7 and 8. He’d attend programs there for part of the day, and public school in Biddeford for the rest.

He remembers his instructors and the Sweetser farm, a working farm still in operation, where he helped with chores as part of daily programming, learning life skills.

“If it wasn’t for them, I’d be one of the statistics, one of ‘those kids,'” he said.

Rumery, 48, was speaking to Maine legislators who spent part of the morning at Sweetser on Friday, Feb. 10, learning about the programs, and how they could help through proposed legislation. It was part of a day long legislative tour of programs throughout York and Cumberland counties marking Community Mental Health and Substance Use Awareness Day.

Sweetser, a behavioral health nonprofit, has a statewide footprint; while much of organization’s programming for children and adults is concentrated from Bangor south to the New Hampshire line, Sweetser provides services like a peer focused recovery hotline, a training institute and an eating disorders program statewide. As well, the agency works with a network of independent therapists in an affiliate program for which the agency handles administrative services and referrals across Maine.

Sweetser, like other agencies, is dealing with a labor shortage that hampers the number of people it can serve — an example is the affiliate program, where there is a waitlist of more than 2,000 people.

Funding is also an issue for the agency and for others.

Sweetser’s Saco campus has a school, a residential program for young people, a crisis stabilization unit, provides in-school services for children in districts across the area and services in some primary care offices where a physician can refer a patient to a clinician just down the hall.

In 2022, Sweetser statewide served 15,368 children, adults, and families; supported 5,016 mobile crisis interventions, served 2,306 children through school-based interventions, provided 828 people with continuing education and mental health first aid training through the training institute; served 237 people through its New England Eating Disorders program; served 76 children through the Saco special purpose school and 65 in residential programs. As well, 26,049 calls were answered through Sweetser’s Warmline peer-to-peer support hotline and Sweetser responded to 24,495 PromiseLine calls.

Last year, there was some bridge funding to help programs like Sweetser fill gaps and the first increase in MaineCare reimbursements in many years – funding that is valued and appreciated Sweetser officials told legislators.

“Our goal is to break even,” said Chief Financial Officer John McAnuff. He said the agency has had an $18 million loss over five years.

“That is not sustainable,” said Sweetser President Jayne Van Bramer.

She told legislators the agency loses money on school-based programs “but we’re going to continue to do it,” because reaching young people early makes a difference.

She noted that Maine has higher rates than nationally when comparing rates of depression and anxiety or completed suicides by young people.

Rep. Lori Gramlich of Old Orchard Beach, herself a social worker, said the state needs to hone its focus on providing preventative services and noted that 80 Maine children are currently receiving care outside the state.

Rep. Holly Sargent of York wondered how Maine could encourage people to come here to work and stay.

Rep. Walter Runte, also of York, asked if retirees could be encouraged to return to work at Sweetser and in other agencies.

Several legislative bills have been submitted, from one designed to help address the worker shortage in behavioral health services by allowing provisional licensure and reimbursement for out-of-state licensees, to another allowing social workers to diagnose and treat mental illness, among others.

Rumery had a message for the people at Sweetser, legislators, and today’s young people.

“Everything you did taught me real world skills,” he said to Sweetser officials. “And the kids that come here: you can have a successful life.”

 

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