Mental illness is a subject that, fortunately, more and more individuals are becoming more comfortable discussing openly. Progress has been gradual, but we are seeing the old stigmas attached to the subject beginning to disappear. And it’s for good reason-when we look at Illinois statistics, we discover that mental illness impacts all of us.
As many as 10 percent of our children suffer from an emotional disturbance, and half of these children will drop out of school. There are more inmates in Illinois prisons with a mental illness than there are in all of the psychiatric hospitals in the state combined. As many as one quarter of Illinois residents are affected by a mental health issue in a given year. Mental illnesses do not discriminate by race, gender or ethnicity. All of us know someone who is suffering.
Yet when we look at mental health services in Illinois, we see reluctance still exists at the state level to adequately fund these services. Compared to the rest of the country, Illinois is doing a poor job of addressing mental illness or providing adequate resources for treatment. Despite being in the top quintile nationally in terms of per capita income, Illinois ranks in the bottom quintile in terms of state-funded treatment resources. These are just a few of the reasons why the National Alliance for Mental Illness gave Illinois an “F” on its 2006 mental health report card.
The Illinois mental health system suffers from severe underfunding. However, to refer to it as a “system” is a bit misleading. Mental health services in Illinois are funded or delivered through multiple state departments that act independently of one another, resulting in a severe lack of coordination and consistency for the consumer. This is unfortunate since, with proper treatment and supportive resources, recovery is a possibility for most individuals with a mental illness whether they are children, youth or adults. We are missing out on an opportunity to help residents of Illinois transition to recovery and wellness, a move that would benefit all of us.
However, we are now presented with a second opportunity. Oct. 1-7 is Mental Illness Awareness Week-themed “Building Community, Taking Action”-and we invite you to take action by attending a forum with Illinois legislators at the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park on Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m.
This forum, which is the result of months of cooperative work between many local mental health organizations, will provide an opportunity to discuss the current state of mental health services in Illinois , as well as ways in which services can be improved for individuals with mental illness, their families, and the community. The forum will be attended by state legislators Deborah Graham, Don Harmon, Kimberly Lightford, Angelo Saviano, and Karen Yarbrough, who will each speak on these issues briefly and answer questions from the audience. Other incumbent legislators and challengers from the West Cook County area have also been invited.
We have made great progress within our communities through open and honest discussion of mental illness and the ways it impacts all of us. Now we must bring this dialogue to our state representatives and let them know that we support:
1) keeping new federal Medicaid funds in the community mental health system,
2) increasing supported housing to keep persons with mental illness in the community,
3) bridging gaps in care for mental illness and substance abuse, and
4) creating additional funding for mental health services.
Come and hear from legislators on their views regarding the state of mental health care in Illinois. Get answers from legislative candidates on how we can improve it. I hope you will attend the mental health legislative forum on Oct. 11 at the Nineteenth Century Club located at 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park, at 6:30 p.m.
Daniel J. Kill is president/CEO of Family Service & Mental Health Center of Oak Park & River Forest.