Mental health clinic serving 1,500 people in El Paso, Texas, to close due to budget cuts

From The El Paso Times:

EL PASO -- A mental-health clinic serving 1,500 El Pasoans will close Oct. 1, a victim of the county budget crisis.

Gary Larcenaire, CEO of El Paso Mental Health Mental Retardation, said closure will mean patients' care will lapse and some will become acutely mentally ill.

Some will end up in emergency rooms, others in jail and still others might harm themselves or somebody else, Larcenaire said.

The County Commissioners Court cut $1.5 million in funding for the clinic. The commissioners are trying to close a $15 million gap in the county's $205 million general fund budget.