March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 49 F

Children’s mental health center opens in Edgewater

arundellodgeArundel Lodge, Inc., a non-profit organization in Edgewater, Maryland that has been providing mental health services to adults in the community since 1975, is filling a longstanding void for children and their families in Anne Arundel County. The Marcus Youth and Family Center at Arundel Lodge will provide mental health and substance use treatment to children 4-17 years of age and offer support to their families.

The Marcus Youth and Family Center takes its name from area residents, Stephen and Beverly Marcus, who donated over $100,000 to help the center become a reality. “I was excited to learn of plans by Mike Drummond, Executive Director of Arundel Lodge, to open a Children and Adolescents Center. There is such a great need in this community ,” says Mrs. Marcus. “I was impressed by Mike’s passion, achievements, and ability to provide innovative services. I knew I wanted to contribute to the clinic’s establishment and success.” 

“The CDC estimates that a total of 13%–20% of children living in the United States, experience a mental disorder in a given year. If we apply these numbers to the Annapolis population alone,” explains Mr. Drummond, “we can determine that anywhere from about 1000 to over 1600 children and adolescents in our area experience a mental disorder in a given year. This is a need that Arundel Lodge can now help families address.”

Additional challenges facing Anne Arundel County, with respect to mental health services are sited in Poverty Amidst Plenty IV: Surviving the Economic Downturn, published by the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County in 2012, and include the lack of mental health providers willing to accept Medicaid and MCHIP and a lack of bilingual therapists. Arundel Lodge already addresses these issues by accepting Medical Assistance, Medicare, sliding scale payments for the uninsured, as well as various private insurance plans. They also offer services in Spanish and American Sign Language. These payment options and language services will extend to the Marcus Youth and Family Center. “We’ve been providing mental health services for adults in this county for over 40 years,” says Mr. Drummond, “and we are striving to be leaders in mental health and substance use services for youth and their families as well.”

Two other stand-out components of the Marcus Youth and Family Center will include Same Day Access for walk-ins, and collaboration with the National Center for Trauma Informed Care to implement an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of trauma in order to help individuals cope with their experiences.

Pamela M. Brown, Ph.D., Executive Director of Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Youth and Families congratulates Arundel Lodge, “The 2015 county needs assessment highlights mental health services for youth as one of our urgent county needs. Congratulations to Arundel Lodge for anticipating this trend and offering care to an under-served population through the new Children’s Center.”

To find out more about Arundel Lodge programs and services, hours of operation, volunteer opportunities, or to support behavioral health services in Anne Arundel County, please visit www.ArundelLodge.org or call 443-433-5900.

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