Meeting mental health needs

Bad things can happen even in small towns. An African-American woman in a rural area of Leake County made an alarming discovery when her 7-year-old granddaughter visited. "When I was giving her a bath, I noticed blood in her panties," said the grandmother. "I asked her (if she had been sexually abused), and then she told me (she had). I did not know what to do, so I carried her to the doctor." The family's names are kept confidential because The Clarion-Ledger does not identify victims of sexual abuse. The doctor at the Dr. Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center, a federally funded clinic that provides health care to low-income families, treated the child, then referred the family for counseling. Because of the Southern Institute for Mental Health Advocacy, Research and Training - SMHART - finding an affordable counselor was not a problem.

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