WAILUKU - Clients of mental health programs supported by the state turned out in Wailuku on Thursday to protest budget cuts that will slash the services they receive, The Maui News reported today.

Last month, the state Department of Health announced that starting Jan. 1 it would cap the number of hours case managers can spend with with their clients at 3.5 hours per person per month - down from three hours a day. The cuts are part of an effort to make up for a budget shortfall of $25 million in the Adult Mental Health Division for the current fiscal year.

"This is so important. It affects everyone - everyone knows someone who suffers from a mental illness," said Shai Marumoto.

The state will pay a bigger price as people benefiting from mental health services stop getting the support they need, he said.

"It's just going to get picked up by the police, the ambulance, the emergency room."

Marumoto said treatment and case management helped him get his life and his career back on track after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder several months ago.

"It affected my whole life," he said. "I'm so grateful for these resources."

"The case workers are so important," agreed Kehaulani Deguilmo. "I'm in recovery, and if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have gotten this far."

Others won't be so lucky if they don't have the support, she said.

"If they do this cut, it's going to hurt people," she said.

Jud Cunningham, executive director of Aloha House, said some case workers were being reduced to part-time positions because of the drastic cut to client hours authorized by the state.

Case management is a "proven model" for stabilizing people with mental illness, and the state will see significant consequences as a result of the cutbacks, he said.

"Cutting the legs from a key service - this is a blow."

Case worker Jessica Brazil was still in shock from learning just before Thanksgiving that her employment hours would be cut by 75 percent.

"We're quarter-time positions," she said. "There's no medical insurance. We're going to have to find other employment. We're not going to be able to meet the needs of our consumers."

While clients used to receive about 16 hours of support a month from case workers and psychiatric nurses, she said, they'll now get less than a quarter of that amount.

That's not enough to keep people stable if they're suffering from serious mental illnesses, she said.

"Homelessness will go up. Emergency room visits will go up. Law enforcement will become mental health responders," she said.

Case managers support clients with mental illness by helping them get medical treatment and therapy, connecting them with agencies and services such as Social Security, and even calling to remind them to take their medication or simply giving them emotional support.

"If it wasn't for these people, my son would be dead," said George Shippee, who joined the rally outside the State Office Building in Wailuku Thursday.

Shippee said his son had been violent and delusional, hurting himself and others, until he received treatment and was assigned to a case manager who kept him on track.

"Now he's working every day, he has a smile on his face, he's clean," he said. "He goes to the gym and works out after work. He's living."

People experiencing a mental health crisis can still receive immediate help by calling the state ACCESS line at (800) 753-6879.

* Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.