MENTAL ILLNESS: INCREASE ACCESS TO TREATMENT

I was impressed and heartened to read Sheriff John Rutherford's call for
expanding community-based services for those suffering the effects of
mental illness in our community.

I applaud his efforts to educate the community regarding the number of
people who are inappropriately involved with the criminal justice system as
a direct consequence of their devastating brain disease or untreated
addiction. I would add, however, that the number of mentally ill poor who
wind up in the jail is only a fraction of the total number of people who
suffer in silence and anguish from untreated psychiatric disorders.

For those of us who work in the community with the poorest and most
marginalized members of our society, we can recount the overwhelming
frustration of countless individuals who are locked out of appropriate
mental health and addiction services, based solely on their insurance
status and inability to pay their way through our health care system.

Only a small percentage of these individuals experience incarceration. The
vast majority, tragically, endure a degree of pain most of us could not
begin to imagine. Solutions, such as the recently publicized call for
mandated community treatment, will not begin to adequately address the
urgent needs of the majority of people who would benefit from mental health
and substance abuse treatment. Rather, a community and social commitment to
increasing equitable access to psychiatric care, case management services,
vocational rehabilitation opportunities and substance abuse treatment is
the only answer to preserving the dignity and well-being of those who walk
in the shadows of our community. Advocating for increased local funding,
voicing opposition to proposed Medicaid cuts and speaking clearly to mental
health care providers who treat only the insured are actions we can all take.

To do anything less is to continue the tragic status quo and contribute to
a social legacy of shame.