Letters to the Editor June 2007

By Hugh Brady

Letters to the editor are a good way to communicate with our public officials. Our senators and representatives monitor the newspapers for these letters and they help them gage public opinion. So when you write to your legislators, both state and federal, take an extra moment to modify a copy and turn it into a letter to the editor and mail it to one or more of the Chicago area newspapers. Not only will you inform our legislators, you will also inform the readers who may also be sparked to take action.

Two NAMI Barrington Area members had letters to the editor published in the Daily Herald recently:

Larry Kluk’s letter was published on May 3:

More state funding for mental health

Mental illness strikes as many as one in five families, yet treatment and care for those who suffer from mental illness is all but ignored by the State of Illinois. National organizations have conducted state-by-state comparisons of mental health services, and in these comparisons Illinois fares very poorly. This is partly because per capita Illinois spends much less money on its mental health services than do surrounding states. In one national study Illinois ranked 34^th among the 50 states in its per capita mental health spending.

As a result, many people in Illinois who have mental illnesses are homeless or in prison. We would not condemn cancer patients or people with diabetes to homelessness or prison, so why do we treat our mentally ill this way?

Mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders, defects in the way brain chemicals transmit signals from nerve cell to nerve cell. These brain disorders cannot be overcome through willpower and they are not related to a person’s character or intelligence. But they do respond to modern treatment. Medications and psychotherapy can help most of those who suffer from mental illness to live fairly normal lives – but not if State of Illinois won’t provide the help these people need.

The Illinois General Assembly must make significant improvements in the way it funds and supports treatment for those with mental illness. To do otherwise is penny wise and pound foolish.

Lawrence A. Kluk

Wauconda

And my own letter was published on May 7:

Illinois funding for mental health lags

Illinois must increase its funding for mental health services. According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Illinois ranks 34^th among the states in per-capita state spending for mental health, well behind other states in our area. States like Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota spend in excess of 50% more, on a per capita basis, on mental health services than does Illinois.

As a result, many people in Illinois who have mental illnesses are in prison or are homeless. In fact, Illinois has more mentally ill persons in its prisons than in all its residential mental health facilities, public and private combined, and estimates are that as many as one-third of the chronically homeless are suffering from mental illness.

We wouldn’t condemn cancer patients or people with diabetes to prison or homelessness, so why do we treat our mentally ill this way?

The General Assembly is spending a great deal of time this spring figuring out how to increase funding for our public schools. They also need to seek ways to improve care and treatment for those struggling with mental illness. The recent tragedy in Blacksburg, Va. only emphasizes the need.

Hugh Brady

Palatine