Whose Safety Net?
 

Last month, we criticized Gov. Bobby Jindal's proposed budget cuts to Louisiana's already-overtaxed mental health system ("Breaking Down," March 13). Simply put, Louisiana ranks near the bottom among states in terms of mental health services ? and the problem is worse in New Orleans, thanks to prior cuts made by the governor.? [ Read more ]

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Not a pretty picture. I work with the seriously mentally ill and we've had recent cutbacks, that followed previous recent cutbacks, and pay has been frozen for at least three years now. It was pretty exceptionally low to begin with. There's no support for these people when they leave the hospital. They get out of the hospital and stop taking their meds, either they can't afford the meds, start to feel better and think they don't need their meds, or get suspicious and stop taking their meds. It's a revolving door and the same people get committed over and over again. Sometimes...no, it seems to be a regular occurrence, patients are discharged in the morning and picked up by the police or sent by their families and recommitted the same afternoon. It's not going well.