Of course you’re depressed, you’re old!” is a common misperception that right now has tangible and detrimental consequences in light of the potential budget cuts for the provision of mental health services to elders.

Multiple national studies have shown that older persons can benefit from the same types of mental health and substance abuse services as younger adults. But because of differing circumstances associated with aging, they often require specialized service designs that address the fact that older persons are more apt to be living alone, or that there is added shame, denial and reticence about their mental illness that prevents them from seeking help. In addition, poor health, impaired mobility and diminished social supports make it difficult for many elders to use community mental health centers or outpatient services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Maine ranks 45th in the country in the percentage of the 65 and older population reporting frequent mental distress, even though the rate of elder suicide exceeds that for young adults.

Perhaps it is our society’s tendency to devalue seniors and the contributions that we make that make it easier to dismiss our needs as we get older. Luckily, there is someone out there watching out for our interests. The Joint Advisory Committee on Select Services to Older Adults (JAC) is a group of individuals representing consumers, geriatric mental health practitioners and a variety of interested stakeholders who have met monthly since 1984 to advise the Department of Health and Human Services about the mental health needs of older persons and to make policy recommendations. Since its inception, the JAC has worked to draw attention to the mental health needs of Maine’s seniors as well as to the barriers that stand in the way of providing appropriate and cost-effective treatment.

Unfortunately, since the JAC was formed in 1994, there has been a systematic dismantling of geriatric mental health services, and the governor’s budget curtailment order and supplemental budget will only serve to make a bad situation worse, adding to an already sad history of budget cuts. In 2004, geriatric health funds were cut by 61 percent. In 2007, funding was reduced by $80,272. Now an elimination of $171,089 is planned for fiscal year 2009. Add to that the loss of state funds that will result in cuts to the MaineCare reimbursement and funding constraints put on dual-eligibles – those who qualify for Medicare because of age and for Mainecare (Medicaid) because of disability or financial situation – and you are left with geriatric mental health services that have been eroded almost to the point of non-existence.

These are services that allow elders to remain independent and in their own homes. They are safety net programs that prevent and divert elders from premature placement in nursing homes or residential care facilities that will cost the state far more down the road than the preventive measures that are still barely in place.

While it seems incomprehensible that we would cut proven, cost-effective services to elders, perhaps it is not. Elders are already often treated as an invisible population who have lost their value to society. Add to that our human nature tendencies to make short-sighted, quick fix solutions without assessing the long-term costs, and you have a dangerous combination that leads to the type of budget cut on the table. The cut proposed by the governor is a move in the wrong direction, and that truly is something to be depressed about.

Shawn Lewin of Old Town is a volunteer advocate for AARP and a member of the Joint Advisory Committee on Select Services to Older Adults.