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The Miami Herald

April 14, 2003

Reprinted with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Update the Baker Act

Re the item "Mental patient told to leave" in the April 9 Talk of Our Town column: Sad, indeed.

The family of a 67-year-old woman is ordered to leave its home to protect the neighbors. Nothing practical has changed. The mentally ill person, her family and the new neighbors still remain victims of untreated mental illness.

Forty-one states have updated the Involuntary Commitment Laws (the Baker Act in Florida) to allow judges to order involuntary supervision to mentally ill persons with ''lack of insight,'' or anosognosia, a symptom that robs our dear ones of their ability to comprehend that they are sick and in need of medical care. Florida may be the next state to do so if bills S-2748 and H-1197 are passed by the Legislature.

A few families of mentally ill persons who consistently refuse or stop psychiatric care have put together an educational website -- Lack of Insight in Mental Illness at www.lackofinsightmi.org -- presenting our point of view and why the families must advocate for those too sick to realize that they are ill.

We would appreciate the support of the community.

Rachel H. Diaz

Miami

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