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Mental Health Needs Lacking

November 26th, 2014 by Mike Vasilinda

In the wake of the shootings at Florida State University and the killing of a deputy sheriff at the hands of an anarchist, mental heath professionals are saying more value needs to be placed on mental heath counseling.  Florida ranks last or near the bottom on mental health and drug abuse funding.

Police described the man behind the FSU shootings this way. “Mr. May was in a state of crisis.”

And two days later, 53-year-old Curtis Wade Holley opened fire on first responders. “This person was anti government, anti establishment” says Leon County Sheriff’s spokesman James McQuaig.

Friends and family had sought help for FSU Shooter Myron May to no avail even after the 30 year old left bizarre voice mails for a fellow conspiracy theorist. On a YouTube video posted by the recipient, he is heard saying “Renee, look, I’m getting hit by direct energy weapons right now as we speak.”

The problem is that as daily stresses increase, mental health funding has been stagnate says Mike Hansen of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health.  “That infrastructure is crumbling. Resources have not been put in to keep pace with increased costs, and if we don’t get additional resources, that existing system is going to fall apart. It is falling apart already” says Hansen

When the friends of Myron May reached out and sough help for what they perceived to be mental health issues, They were told nothing could be done. That’s despite a state law that would have allowed a judge to order May to take medication without being institutionalized.

The Program has never been funded says Hansen.

“We’re paying for it anyway. We’re paying for it in an inappropriate way, and we get results nobody likes. I’m not saying we can ever prevent things like this, but there are probably things we can do to make it less likely to happen.”

A state survey says the state is meeting less than half the need for mental health care.

Providing mental heal care for everyone who needs it would cost the state upwards of 600 million more dollars a year. When patients aren’t treated, they often end up I emergency rooms or jail.

 

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