Bill Graham / The Meridian StarWeems Community Mental Health Center is providing many of its mental health services over telehealth. 

Weems Community Mental Health Center is providing many of its services over the telephone, the organization’s executive director said on Monday.

Representatives of Weems updated the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors on their organization’s work and finances at the board’s meeting. The agency serves nine counties — Clarke, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Smith.

“We’re going to keep trying to serve people and help people every way we can,” executive director Russ Andreacchio said, “at the same time, keeping everyone safe.”

Andreacchio told The Meridian Star that Weems is providing about 80% of its services through telehealth. Weems is still providing face-to-face children’s services, outpatient group programs in adult services and other in-person services. These activities follow all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Andreacchio said.

“What greater need for mental health is there than right now?” he told the board of supervisors. “In our lifetime, we’ve never experienced anything like this and hope we never do again. But people have anxiety, they have depression and a whole host of others things — drug addiction, alcoholism — all of that has just gone through the roof.”

He said Weems serves people with any of those conditions as well as other needs.

Lori Walton, Weems’ chief financial officer, told the board that a majority of the organization’s budget is spent on its employees and their salaries.

Early in the pandemic, Weems laid off about 75 people, according to Andreacchio.

“The good news is we have called back just about everybody that we laid off,” he said. “Some of those have come back and were re-employed, and then some for whatever reason elected not to come back.”

To learn more about Weems, visit weemsmh.com.