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Focusing only on solution is not going to help anyone including the general public.  Since the money is coming out of tax payers’ pockets, we should look into what is a productive and appropriate way to resolve the issue. Creating another big State hospital will not solve any problem, ESPECIALLY when the current system is not working for anyone.

Proposal:  1.  Change the current State hospital’s function.  In order to truly help the patients, we have to really respect and give them dignity. Current practice is not working..For example, placing  someone who is going psychotic in a white, empty room will worsen the symptoms.  What we have to do is the change the whole practice of therapy.   2.  Higher pay for State hospital employees, 4 day work schedule, and more aggressive conflict solution (humane) training.  Just focusing on “Fixing their problem” is not the proper way.  Practitioners need to understand HOW to deal with mentally ill.  Only way is to WORK TOGETHER..This is tough, therefore, higher pay, more education…eventually will cost MUCH LESS for the entire State.  3.  Change the law.  Waiting until the mentally ill causes harm to oneself or to other is a nonsense.  What we need is a more aggressive training  for mental health practitioners and social workers (and more pay) so that it would eventually cost us LESS (solution always costs us MORE, look at our prison system) and will benefit mentally ill AND everyone else.  4.  Change our prison system and Veteran’s healthcare. Basically, we need a solid rehabilitation program inside the prison and job programs for prisoners so that they do not go back to the prison (save us $$$$$).  Veterans (active or retired) need to get a  mental healthcare (counseling, etc) BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER any draft..this will drastically decrease the homeless and mental health change (also save us $$$$$).

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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