HILO — East Hawaii clients of a mental health program that is being terminated yesterday pleaded with an advisory council to understand their plight.

But the state Adult Mental Health Division has already decided to end the Psychosocial Rehabilitation program at the end of this month, leaving roughly 60 people unable to reach basic services.
Two dozen people affiliated with the PSR program testified yesterday before the State Council on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and several read statements on behalf of other people. The speakers were passionate, sometimes crying as they faced the council, which met at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. Neighbor Island residents participated via video conference.
PSR in East Hawaii provides services and free transportation to the facility in Hilo. The program was supposed to end in September, but was extended two months and will now run through November. The East Hawaii program operates from the CARE Hawaii office in Hilo.
Clients — officially known as "consumers" —will be enrolled in another program known as the Clubhouse. But that program only provides transportation within Hilo, and most PSR consumers live in Puna, Kau or Hamakua.
Consumers who addressed the council gave dire warnings of what will happen when PSR is terminated. The mentally ill will withdraw further from society and become suicidal, or reclusive, or criminal. They won't get the structured support they need to return to the community, and will instead fill the hospitals.
The program's end comes after a year of budget cuts that has already reduced PSR to a shadow of its former self. Last December, adult mental health care clients and caregivers picketed outside the Hilo State Office Building to protest $25 million in budget cuts. Beginning Jan. 1, the state capped reimbursable case management hours per consumer from three hours a day to 3.5 hours a month, and caused CARE Hawaii to cut half its staff.
The cuts also affected Hilo's other community-based mental health provider, American Psychological Services.
The state's budget woes should not fall on those least able to advocate for themselves, many said yesterday.
"It is not their fault for having a chemical imbalance," said Janella Matsumura, a CARE Hawaii PSR team leader who stands to lose her job.
"PSR has been a home to the mentally ill," said Thomas Helms, his right hand quivering. He told the council that he once jumped off the Empire State Building but a gust of wind blew him back onto another ledge.
Several consumers warned they will withdraw from the world, as they did before joining the program.
"I may not leave my home or wander the community with nothing to do," said a crying Dawn Yamauchi of Volcano.
Richard Petty, a CARE Hawaii personal specialist, said society's most weak and vulnerable won't just be sharing in Gov. Linda Lingle's plan to balance the budget. "We're being eliminated," he said.
Two of the speakers were Vietnam veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Others suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, major depression, suicidal tendencies or aggression. All said that the program has helped them, and they asked for some compassion from the state.
"Through PSR, I learned how to show emotion in an appropriate manner," said Mary Maka of Hilo. "My family doesn't keep me in the closet any more. ... I'm not afraid to say I have a mental illness."
She was still crying when council vice chairman Randy Hack said her three minutes of testimony had expired.
"You got to listen to us. You got to listen to our pleas," Maka said.
Hack later apologized for offending anybody with his brusqueness.
Valerie Miller of Fern Acres lives 10 miles from the nearest bus stop.
"Please, I beg of you, don't take this away from us," she said. "I need your help. You guys got to come up with the help for us mentally ill people."
"Please don't send us into the night," said Larry Quintos. "As you hear these people's stories, they are crying out for help."
"I appreciate and I got the point," said Bill Sheehan, the acting director of the Adult Mental Health Division. He asked those who spoke to send in their testimony to the Planning Department, Adult Mental Health Division, P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, HI 96801.
Council members discussed their options, including the possibility that some portions of the PSR on the Big Island could be retained. However, the council adjourned at noon without making any recommendations to the state.