It has been a busy week in the efforts to kindle support for theMississippi School of the Arts, the Crisis Intervention Center andthe Mississippi Adolescent Center – all located here in Brookhavenand cited for potential closure in efforts to balance the state’sbudget.

A quick Internet search of MSA will find a flurry of letters andblogs in support of the school from across the country. Those arein addition to the e-mails and other responses we have received atThe DAILY LEADER. We also know of a number of letters thegovernor’s office as well as Congressman Greg Harper’s and Sen.Roger Wicker’s offices have received. MSA’s public support seems tobe building.

Monday and Tuesday found key legislative leaders touring the MSAcampus – some for the first time – to see the campus in action.Conversation with those legislators found much sympathy andsupport, but also the stark reality that saving the Brookhavencampus is going to be a hard sell come January.

While public support for MSA is gaining traction, support forthe Crisis Intervention Center and the Mississippi AdolescentCenter appears not so strong. An entourage of the MississippiDepartment of Mental Health staff, lead by Executive Director EdLeGrand, spent almost two hours at The DAILY LEADER on Tuesdaydiscussing their plans to save the two local mental healthfacilities.