Resolution 26
A RESOLUTION
TO BE ENTILED AN ACT TO ENCOURAGE THE STATE OF
Short Title: Help our Communities Act
Sponsors: Senator Webb
Signatories:
Referred to:
Version: Committee Version
First
WHEREAS,
according to the National
Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and
older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in
a given year with about 6 percent who suffer from a serious mental illness;
and,
WHEREAS, the current plan is to move mentally ill persons from both Dorthea Dix Mental Hospital and John Umstead to the newly built Central Regional Mental Hospital, which has a capacity of 432 beds; and,
WHEREAS, it can be expected with the increase in the number of people coming to central North Carolina that there will be a need for an increase in capacity in the mental health area; and,
WHEREAS,
according to the National
Coalition for the Homeless, a disproportional amount of the homeless are
mentally ill; and,
WHEREAS,
there are plans to move
boundary areas and increase capacity at
RESOLVED, that the NC State Student Senate strongly encourages the Department of
Health and Human Services to consider making permanent both the 100 bed unit at the current John Umstead Hospital and the 60 bed unit that will be located on the site of the old Dorothea Dix Hospital; and be it further,
RESOLVED, that we believe that this will increase capacity and reduce the strain on mental health, and while we know that this will increase costs for taxpayers, we believe that this is a wise investment for the citizens of North Carolina and will increase employment, among other reasons; and be it further,
RESOLVED, that we recognize that these
policy change will result in a reduction in the homeless population in the
urban centers, as many mentally ill persons end up on the street if not
properly cared for.