Riverbend Community Mental Health has announced it will close its adult residential housing on Fayette Street in Concord this fall, as ongoing state and federal funding shortfalls put pressure on its programs.

The 10-bed adult transitional housing facility, which currently houses seven individuals and has been a crucial support for those with mental health needs.

The nonprofit mental health center expects to shut the doors at the facility by Sept 16.

Lisa Madden, Riverbend’s president and CEO, said without sufficient funding, operating the facility is creating a $500,000 annual deficit for the organization.

She pointed to changes in Medicaid, reductions in the state budget for the Department of Health and Human Services, and the failure of Senate Bill 114 — legislation that would have provided funding to stabilize and expand community housing through mental health centers.

“We’ve made a decision that is very important to make, but it isn’t without tremendous heartache that we’re doing this,” said Madden. “This is a tremendous loss, and we tried our very hardest to get some support, and we weren’t successful with that. But we were hoping that our legislature would support this, and it did not make it through, so here we are.”

While Riverbend operates a similar transitional facility in Boscawen, the decision to close the Concord location was driven by the higher capacity at the Boscawen site, which currently houses 19 individuals.

To ease the transition, Riverbend will give affected clients and their families or caregivers two months’ notice to arrange future care and explore alternative housing options.

Those at the Fayette Street property who meet clinical criteria will be moved to other Riverbend residential facilities.

Additionally, the four Riverbend staff members currently working at the Fayette Street location are being offered positions elsewhere within the agency, said Madden.

Uncertainty of federal funding is also driving this move by Riverbend.

“Federal level has the potential to be catastrophic too,” said Madden. “However that plays out, and what the end result is, you could be seeing so many people without insurance and so many people who do not have access to every level of care, not only behavioral health, but their medical needs and every level of care.”

Systemwide impact

Shutting down a 10-bed transitional mental health facility may not seem like a major loss, but in New Hampshire’s already overburdened mental health system, every bed plays a critical role.

The state has been working to end the practice of emergency room boarding, where individuals in psychiatric crisis wait in hospital ERs for inpatient care due to a lack of available treatment beds. When a transitional housing bed is not available, it creates a ripple effect across the entire system.

Patients who are clinically ready to leave New Hampshire Hospital can’t be discharged without a safe place to go, forcing them to occupy beds that could be used for someone waiting in an ER.

Riverbend receives referrals from New Hampshire Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital, North American Family Institute North, the nonprofit and many other community organizations that rely on Riverbend to take in people and provide the support they need.

“We’re trying to go the other way. We were trying to actually add beds, ” said Madden. “But it is the exact opposite of this decision. We were looking to do all we could to try to strengthen the continuum of care and the community-based services.”

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com