ADVOCACY NEWS FROM NAMI NEW JERSEY:
1. STATE: ANCORA CAN BE BETTER
2. SOME CAN STRUGGLE AFTER LEAVING ANCORA
3. HOSPITAL TO PAY IN HOMELESS DUMPING SETTLEMENT
4. WOMAN HELPS MENTALLY ILL RECOVER
5. STATE TO CLOSE SCHOOLS FOR DISABLED AND TROUBLED KIDS
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STATE: ANCORA CAN BE BETTER
State officials say Ancora Psychiatric Hospital has become
a better place over the past year, but even they admit that
New Jersey's largest facility for the mentally ill still
has a long way to go. The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil
Rights Division is conducting an inquiry into patient safety
and treatment quality at Ancora. Justice Department staffers
were at Ancora from Jan. 12 to 15.
"We're not claiming victory at Ancora," said
Greg Roberts, assistant director of the state's Office of
Hospital Management. "We still have a lot of work to
do down there."
Read more:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090406/NEWS01/904060342/1006
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SOME CAN STRUGGLE AFTER LEAVING ANCORA
Discharged from Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, he moved to
Dover Woods Health Care Center. That same day, he walked
two blocks south and robbed the Wachovia Bank on Route 9.
To Toms River officials, the case is indicative of ongoing
problems at Dover Woods, the largest residential care facility
in the state. Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher said Ancora is discharging
patients and not providing them the follow-up care they
need to re-enter society.
See the Gannett story:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090407/NEWS01/904070338/1006
Read the Asbury Park Press Editorial: Expand supply of
group homes
http://www.app.com/article/20090409/OPINION01/904090374/1029/opinion
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HOSPITAL TO PAY IN HOMELESS DUMPING SETTLEMENT
In a settlement announced Wednesday, the L.A. city attorney's
office said that College Hospital had dumped more than 150
mentally ill patients on skid row -- long a magnet for the
region's most vulnerable citizens -- in 2007 and 2008. As
part of the settlement, the hospital will pay $1.6 million
in penalties and charitable contributions to a host of psychiatric
and social-service agencies. The hospital also agreed to
a first-of-its-kind injunction that prohibits it from transporting
any homeless psychiatric patient discharged from their facilities
to the streets or any shelter.
Read the LA Times report:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless-dumping9-2009apr09,0,5952498.story
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WOMAN HELPS MENTALLY ILL RECOVER
A roof over one's head can go a long way to soothing a
soul battered by nights sleeping in alleys or abandoned
buildings. A room of one's own in a home shared by others
whose need for stability is equal or greater can provide
possibility of swifter recovery. Carmela Lunt and others
knew all that in 1986 when they founded Project Hope, now
known as Community Hope.
Read the Daily Record story:
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090406/COLUMNISTS20/904060316/1005/NEWS01
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STATE TO CLOSE SCHOOLS FOR DISABLED AND TROUBLED KIDS
New Jersey's child mental health and welfare agency will
cease operating 18 schools for disabled and troubled kids
by June 2010. Department of Children and Families Commissioner
Kimberly Ricketts' decision, disclosed last week in a letter
to parents and teachers, is based on declining enrollments
and the department's desire to focus on its core mission
of child protection, spokeswoman Kate Bernyk said.
The decision caught families and employees by surprise,
and many have vowed to fight it.
Read Susan Livio's Star Ledger report:
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1239251124165760.xml&coll=1
