CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

EDITORIAL: Small steps add up to help mentally ill

Victoria Advocate - 2/12/2017

Feb. 12--Oftentimes, improving the quality of mental health care and the outlook for those who struggle with mental illness can seem like a Gordian knot: huge, complicated and overwhelming. But, in the continued fight to make the best possible treatment available to all, it's important that we never lose sight of the fact that just one person can make a major difference.

Take, for example, the case of former Victoria district judge Robert C. Cheshire. Cheshire was frustrated with the number and unreasonable length of the competency hearings on his docket. Such prolonged and, at times, unnecessary court proceedings were costing the county and keeping mentally ill defendants from getting the treatment they needed in a timely manner.

"It just seemed like it was wasting the jurors' time and creating hardships on the mentally ill who needed to get help," he said. "I decided that it was something that was important to try to change."

So, Cheshire joined a team of 16 advocates who championed Senate Bill 1057. Once passed, the bill allowed judges to determine whether a defendant should receive mental health care rather than calling a full jury to make that decision. The rate of full competency hearings was drastically reduced, allowing for a more efficient judicial system and a smoother, quicker path to treatment for those with mental illnesses.

Another more recent example of how much one person can affect mental health services comes from Jackson County. When Sheriff A.J. "Andy" Louderback noticed how many mental health calls his officers were fielding and the ongoing problem of a bed shortage at state psychiatric hospitals, he hired two part-time deputies to deal specifically with mental health crises.

The additional staff underwent special training in Houston to help them understand the best tactics for defusing charged encounters and how to recognize symptoms of a mental health emergency. Not only do these new hires free up full-time officers for law enforcement duties, but they also ensure that community members experiencing mental health crises will be treated with appropriate care.

People like Cheshire and Louderback are fighting on the front lines to fix a broken system, but that doesn't mean the rest of us can sit back and relax. Improving mental health care will take every one of us working together.

To help do your part, consider calling your legislator. State Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria, and State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, among many others, are currently pushing for $11.6 million to support mental health services in the Crossroads. Community support can make a world of difference in that battle.

Closer to home, you might want to improve your own skills at dealing with mental health issues. Many of us know someone who is depressed, bipolar or struggles with addiction. Learning more about these conditions helps our whole community to be a safer and more supportive place.

Toward that end, Gulf Bend Learning Center is offering a Mental Health First Aid training session Friday. The course is open to the public and will address "risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations and where to turn for help." Attendees will learn about anxiety and mood disorders, trauma and much more.

With big steps and small, we all have a part to play when it comes to unraveling the knot of mental health issues. Take a moment to decide how you can help today.

This opinion reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.

___

(c)2017 Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas)

Visit Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas) at www.victoriaadvocate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.