Submitted by Erick Dietrich.
With over 800 beds that do not meet the demand for 2,500 patients, Western State Hospital is a place that is out for a rationale for its existence as a mental health institution.
I grew up in Lakewood, and my photographic memory of that large castle-like structure began from my seat on the school bus heading to my old high school. Why does our state need two old and dangerous mental health institutions that are already a relic of a time when mental health treatment was harsh and often disturbing.
While our governor continues to willingly ignore the mismanagement and precarious conditions both patients and staff face, the need for local and science-bound mental health treatment needs to start.
Besides being highly expensive and dangerous, Western State should morph into decentralized, community-based centers that operate under unique models of emphasizing treatment for patients, regardless of their condition or offenses.
In a word, mental health treatment should meet the needs of our community in a modern and humanized approach the state’s two antiquated facilities can never provide and never will.
I believe that some people are, for whatever reason, unable to put a clear thought together.
Those unfortunate souls need our attention and help, and that is where mental health professionals should focus their efforts.
My lived-experience is that the majority of mental health issues stem from illicit substance abuse.
From homelessness to violent crime, the people I deal with in this regard are addicts.
Their entire lives revolve around their addiction to mind-altering substances.
Much if not most of the worst substances appear to be originating in China and pouring across the virtually open Mexican border.
Criminal cartels are becoming ever more wealthy and able to buy influence, which seems to prevent proper action to the problem.
Think about that before wasting more billion$ on schemes to address mental health.