
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 24, 1990                   TAG: 9004240492
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

NEED MORE LOCAL SERVICES FOR MENTALLY ILL

THANK YOU for your editorial April 1 about the diversion of federal funds for community programs for the mentally ill from 1963 to 1980. The concept of community mental-health centers is a good one, but as implemented it has woefully lacked evaluation mechanisms built on consumer outcomes. We hope the National Institute of Mental Health will call for a stricter accounting of money.

Since its inception 10 years ago, the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill has urged NIMH to focus on services for those diagnosed with major mental illnesses as opposed to the "worried well," for whom other community resources are available. The Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Roanoke Valley, a chapter of the National Alliance, advocates locally for provision of services for the seriously mentally ill.

Mental illness is a tragic disease wherein stigma, stress and lack of assistance wreak havoc on consumers and their families. One in five persons in Virginia will suffer a major mental illness, so it is a substantial problem.

The most pressing needs are housing and support services for this vulnerable group. Any effort toward accountability for services to the seriously mentally ill, whether from NIMH, the state Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse, or the local services boards, is a step in the right direction.

BARBARA E. HIGGINS\ President Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Roanoke Valley\ ROANOKE

by CNB