Lake County ADAMHS board seeks renewal levy in May election

The 2014 “Expressions of Recovery” exhibit at the Great Lakes Mall, sponsored by the Lake County ADAMHS Board. The annual showcase displays art created by residents who are using the creative process to help them in their recovery. Creating art can help people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders better define and come to terms with what they’re experiencing, according to the ADAMHS board. This year’s “Expressions of Recovery” will be on display from April 30 through May 31 in the Dillard’s South Concourse of Great Lakes Mall.
The 2014 “Expressions of Recovery” exhibit at the Great Lakes Mall, sponsored by the Lake County ADAMHS Board. The annual showcase displays art created by residents who are using the creative process to help them in their recovery. Creating art can help people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders better define and come to terms with what they’re experiencing, according to the ADAMHS board. This year’s “Expressions of Recovery” will be on display from April 30 through May 31 in the Dillard’s South Concourse of Great Lakes Mall. News-Herald file

By Andrew Cass, The News-Herald

The Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board is asking Lake County’s 156,432 registered voters to renew its levy in the May 8 Primary Election.

The levy costs Lake County homeowners $21.15 annually per $100,000 property valuation, according to the Lake County Auditor’s Office. Voters are being asked to renew the levy for an additional 10 years.

According to ADAMHS Board Executive Director Kim Fraser, the levy was first approved by voters in 1989, renewed in 1999 and was replaced in 2008. Without renewal, the levy would cease collection at the end of 2018.

Fraser said 70 percent of the ADAMHS board’s revenue comes from local levies.

“It’s really the lifeblood of the system,” she said.

Funding from the levy goes to support things like suicide prevention efforts and efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, she said. It also supports services for children and families.

“We’re fortunate to have a strong array of behavioral health services in this county,” Fraser said. “When people need mental health and addiction recovery services, they can get those and that’s because of this levy funding. That makes it possible.”

Fraser said there are 17 organizations that get funding through the ADAMHS board.

“Those agencies, places like Crossroads, Signature Health, Big Brothers Big Sisters, rely on our funding to make services possible for the community,” she said.

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