May 7, 2025
There has been a great deal of discussion in the past several days regarding the Pascal Crisis Stabilization Center (Pascal) that is proposed to be built in Charlotte Hall. As these discussions continue, I wanted to share with you some additional information about this project.
I believe that all of us want to ensure that our neighbors who are experiencing a mental health crisis receive the care that they need and are treated with the dignity they deserve. I have been concerned throughout my time in the Senate with access to mental health resources in Southern Maryland. The alarming rates of suicide throughout our community – particularly for our veterans and hometown heroes – is a serious problem, and I have been proud to support many legislative initiatives intended to improve access to mental health.
During the 2024 Legislative Session, I was approached by representatives of Pascal Crisis Services about a grant that they had received through the St. Mary’s County Health Department that would help improve access to mental health care in Southern Maryland. Since I agree with the need for these resources in our region and because I had the opportunity to tour some of their current facilities in 2023 to see how this center would operate, I supported their request. I knew they would be working in conjunction with St. Mary’s County government based on the local health department’s participation in the initial grant, as I referenced in my end-of-session letter in 2024. I am grateful that the State of Maryland has been willing to provide additional capital funding for this project in each of the last two years. As stated in the capital budget, these grants are solely “for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of a new crisis center in Southern Maryland.”
As State legislators, we do not control the specific location where projects will be constructed; that is the choice of the person or entity receiving the grant. This project does not receive any special treatment because it is receiving a State grant; it is still subject to all existing laws and regulations regarding land use. It is my understanding that the St. Mary’s County Health Department was involved in the site selection process for the property that has been chosen for this facility and that the County Commissioners were briefed on this project at their meeting on April 30, 2024.
I have worked through the State’s capital grant process to obtain money for numerous local projects, including the Southern Maryland Campus of the Kennedy Krieger School, the previously proposed Southern Maryland Regional Agricultural Center, the proposed YMCA in Great Mills, and the Health Hub for the St. Mary’s County Health Department in Lexington Park. For each of these projects, the County worked in conjunction with the organization receiving the grant to find a location for them. As legislators, our role for each project is to secure the funding for it through the budget process. Once the money is awarded, the person or entity receiving the grant has the responsibility to spend those funds as outlined in the grant and in accordance with the law – the legislator’s office does not have a role in this process after the funding is granted.
Last week, I attended the public meeting for this project at the Charlotte Hall Library and had the opportunity to hear the concerns of the surrounding community. I fully understand why our citizens in this area have concerns about the location. It is my hope that the County will be able to work with Pascal to explore more suitable options for the location of this facility since the County has other properties and resources that could be used for this project.
I have always believed that it is my responsibility and that of all of our elected government officials to work together for the benefit of the residents of District 29. I continue to offer my support in any way I can to assist the County and Pascal in finding a solution that ensures that this project, which is so important to the health and welfare of the residents of St. Mary’s County and all of Southern Maryland, can move forward in a manner in a way that also addresses the understandable concerns about its location.