Today’s Don’t Prosecute DHS staff; target elected officials article in the Star Tribune hits the right note with me.
I disagree with Joseph Deboer’s comment that it’s ridiculous to threaten lawsuits here – it may be the only thing that can make mental health services show up.
In a meeting 2 years ago, I reminded a Hennepin County Commissioner about Sheriff Stanek’s Star Tribune article where he and Ramsey and Washington County Sheriff’s first threatened to sue the state for not providing timely mental health services to the people in their squad cars and jails.
I had asked her to help fund children’s mental health services in that meeting and asked the question “if the Sheriffs can sue, why can’t other service providers” when their safety is endangered by the violent and frightening behaviors so often a part of severe mental illness?
A single Minneapolis hospital, HCMC sees 800 to 1000 emergency psychiatric visits a month (one of many metro hospitals).
There have never been enough beds and there will never be enough Prozac to humanely treat the people suffering from terrifying mental health problems.
When 6 year old foster child Kendrea Johnson suicided by hanging, her grandmother sued the County. After Jeff Weis shot dead his grandfather, himself and 8 others at Red Lake MN the community built a modern mental health facility so that it wouldn’t happen again.
The only stories that come to our attention are the most horrific.
There are thousands of stories left unknown except to the DHS staff, social workers and law enforcement, foster and adoptive parents, teachers & health workers dealing with severe, chronic and often dangerous people that would benefit with the help we are talking about.
Providing mental health services to troubled people is also the right thing to do.
All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children