By Carolyn Beauchamp
Mental illness has been in the news lately, but for many of the wrong reasons. Horrific tragedies have played into fears that continue to equate mental illness and violence. However, these crises provide us with an opportunity to have the real discussion about how to provide the accountable, accessible and relevant mental health services necessary for people to get care to recover and move forward.
It is clear that mental health is underfunded in much of the nation; it is not so clear whether administrations or legislators are willing to increase resources to meet the needs of children and adults with emotional problems.
The Mental Health Association in New Jersey believes attention must be paid, and programs funded, at both ends of the mental health spectrum. At one end, resources that provide prevention are paid little attention. Prevention means, in part, teaching children skills to deal with others who may be bullying them, dealing with conflict and anger, and learning social skills that will serve them as they grow.
The MHANJ supports more school-based initiatives for youth and teens that have existed in New Jersey but have been cut back. They encourage children to seek help when they are upset, teach resilience, help them identify problems and instruct them how to handle those problems before they get worse. Early prevention and intervention can make a difference in how young people handle crises and their own emotional and psychological issues. Including families in these efforts is an important part of strengthening the family system.
Support for these initiatives is found in the governor’s SAFE Task Force Report, which states, “Because an attempt at mass violence is often the culmination of long-term struggles that include identifiable and treatable experiences such as shaming, humiliation and ostracizing, opportunities exist to intervene in the lives of young people who are at risk of becoming violent.” Resources are essential if change is to occur.
At the other end, where individuals have suffered with mental illness over long periods of time, we need to increase resources so that people’s needs are met at the right time, in the right place, with the most helpful treatment. We must continue to move our public mental health system to an expanded community-based system of care, reducing reliance on institutional settings. We have a vision and a reality that many people who are survivors of serious mental illness living in the community can work and become productive citizens.
We have long waiting lists for outpatient appointments, sometimes weeks, sometimes months. Emergency rooms are too often where people turn when in crisis, rather than having services available before the crisis occurs.
We recommend the state begins to address these needs by devoting resources saved by the closure of Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital to mental health services in the community, particularly outpatient services and those that divert people from emergency rooms by providing crisis intervention.
With Hagedorn’s closure, the state saved $44 million. To date, less than $12 million has been directed to community services. We believe New Jersey should adhere to state law, which requires that when a facility is downsized or closed, its funding must be reinvested in the same population in community services.
Given all the focus on enhancing mental health, now would be the time to put this law into effect and direct funding to our young people and those with serious mental illness.
Carolyn Beauchamp is president and CEO of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey. Have an opinion? Go to njvoices.com.