Cheers to Butler County Mental Health Association as it begins the new year under new management. For more than 55 years, the association has provided services and advocacy on behalf of hundreds of county residents while working to eliminate the stigma many associate with mental illnesses.

Southwestern PA Human Services, headquartered in Charleroi, Washington County, will take over management of the organization starting Jan. 1. SPHS already provides administrative support and consolidated management services to nine nonprofit agencies that serve more than 50,000 people annually.

After the retirement of longtime executive director Pam Grabe in February, the organization considered a merger with the Beaver County Mental Health Association and even shared an executive director, Joe Cook. But After a thorough study, the Beaver organization determined the merger would not serve its best interests.

That's when the Butler MHA turned to Southwestern PA Human Services, which “has a long history as a health and human services integrator and innovator,” according to Claire Schmieler, president of the MHA board of directors. SPHS will provide management and executive leadership and be responsible for funding streams, programming, record keeping, personnel management and information technology.

The change in management should enable the MHA to continue in its mission for many years to come, while remaining an asset to Butler County.

The reported arrests this past week of two women in Butler Township should compel this community to take a good look at itself.Just before midnight Sunday, Butler Township police arrested Amber Rachelle Porter, 24, and Cindy Anderson, 33. Security personnel at Walmart in the Butler Commons shopping center accused both Butler women of shoplifting, saying they attempted to steal a combined $142 worth of merchandise.The first irony is that the women did not need to shoplift. They had plenty of cash. Porter had $328 in her purse, according to police.The second irony is that both were carrying illegal drugs. Police reported finding 62 stamp bags of heroin, marked “skull candy,” along with all that cash in Porter's pocketbook. They found a small glass marijuana bowl in Anderson's purse.The third and most disturbing irony, which can only be speculated rather than proven, is that the women probably were pretending to be Christmas shopping — taking in the midst of the giving season.As usual, they're presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, but the cause for alarm is that criminals apparently are becoming complacent in Butler County. They appear unworried about getting caught. A more cautious — or more professional — perpetrator intent on retail theft would have left the cash and drugs at home, but not here. It's almost as if the illegal activities have become recreation.Their damage is reversible, if we determine as a community that we won't tolerate it. To borrow a federal phrase, if you see something, say something. Make criminals understand they're not welcome here. Make them cautious. Make them uncomfortable.And while we're at it, let's dismiss the “snitch” label. These people are poisoning our children and stealing from us in the name of making an easy buck.

It's difficult these days to measure a community's homelessness. Today's homeless have become adept at blending in. They walk quietly through a daily routine that intertwines with our own, knowing from habit where and when they might find a meal, some warm water for bathing, a dry corner where they might sit unmolested for an hour or two.Butler County does have a homeless population. The people who operate the Winter Relief Center on Center Avenue have served about 150 homeless this past year, providing meals, a place to sleep and, perhaps most importantly, an entry to social services that often lead to permanent housing and other forms of assistance.The center, which is run by the Grace Youth and Family Foundation, is just one of several shelters serving the county's homeless population. It's the third year of the program, but the first in which it is open every night. The first two years the shelter opened only when temperatures dropped below a certain temperature.Bill Halle, founder of the Grace Youth and Family Foundation, credits the shelter's 60 active and reserve volunteers with maintaining an air of hospitality and security. Some of the volunteers themselves are formerly homeless.“They have big hearts to give back to the community,” Halle says.Yes, they do.