Lauderdale County took a step forward in mental health care Friday as Mississippi State University-Meridian opened its new Mental and Behavioral Health Clinic. University officials said the clinic will both benefit students pursuing several medical degree programs at the Meridian campus and bring more resources to bear on addressing mental health needs in the community.
Rep. Billy Adam Calvert, who represents part of Lauderdale County in the state House Of Representatives, said Mississippi is experiencing a mental health crisis, and the new clinic will train more professionals to address that problem.
“When I first ran for office in 2019, mental health wasn’t on the radar for me, running. I didn’t really have a wealth of knowledge about it,” he said. “But since then, the state, we have probably spent $700-$800 million of state funds on mental health. So to me, this is a big deal. This is a big deal that can help patients.”
Calvert said the need for mental health care is nationwide, and he commends MSU for stepping forward to help address it.
Lauderdale County Supervisor Josh Todd, who serves as board president, said he also welcomes the new clinic to the area. In addition to growing access to mental health, he said he has personal reasons for wanting the clinic open as his daughter looks to enroll next fall.
“My daughter is able to stay home. My daughter isn’t going out of state to another college. She’s staying right here,” he said. “Now 20 years ago that did not mean a lot to me, but it does now.”
MSU-Meridian Executive Vice Provost Dr. Peter Ryan said university leadership is excited to have the clinic open and bring opportunities for both students and those needing mental health services.
“We look forward to serving this community in mental and behavioral health and also training the next generation of mental and behavioral health specialists,” he said.
Dr. Lesley Clack, dean of the School of Health Professions, said the clinic is open and ready to provide mental health care to those in need.
“We have therapists ready to provide adult, children and group and other types of services, so we are open and ready to serve you here, and we are very proud of that,” she said. “We also have the opportunity of this being a great training ground for our students, and so we are very excited about that as well.”