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February 26, 2003

Reprinted with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

LETTER
Support N.D. legislation to treat mental illness

Sheree Ogren Spear

Thank you for illuminating the tragedies resulting from untreated mental illness and North Dakota Senate Bill 2296 (Feb. 18 “Families Crusade...”) This bill will likely be up for a vote on the House floor the week of March 3.

North Dakota has the highest suicide rate in the nation for children ages 10-14 and the second highest in the nation for ages 15-19 (2000 study). Their pain and that of their families is quietly buried in a back-page obituary. We are speaking for those whose voices have been silenced by suicide and those too sick to speak for themselves. And for the families who struggle to help them.

Those who think their life is untouched by untreated mental illness may be surprised to learn all North Dakota residents will chip in to pay a half million dollars or more to house Jeffrey Scott in the Bismarck prison. He was sentenced in December to 20 years for shooting his mother’s fiancee, rendering him a quadriplegic and on a vent for life. His family had tried for years to get him help for his mental illness.

Corrections personnel told me that with all the people they see coming through the jail and prison doors every year here in North Dakota who have untreated mental illness, they can’t help but wonder if maybe the person would not have committed the crime if they’d gotten help for their illness. No wonder the state is looking for more buildings to house prisoners.

Mental illness, a term coined before the huge medical advances of the past 10 years, is a condition involving faulty signaling between the neurons in the brain. It is a legitimate medical problem deserving of the same compassion and medical care afforded those with diabetes, Parkinson’s, or any other disease.

Neurological brain disorders cover a broad spectrum. Those with a severe condition such as schizophrenia experience delusions and psychosis if untreated.

Every psychotic episode causes lesions, or scars on their brain which over time diminish their cognitive abilities and their hope for recovery. It’s like having a stroke. That’s one reason early intervention is so important. But in an untreated state, where their thinking is impaired, many with severe neurological disorders are unable to recognize their need for treatment. Involuntary treatment for those people recognizes their limitations and aids them in securing medical care they often are unable to seek on their own. While some people require an initial hospital stay for stabilization, the vast majority are able to live independently in the community with some support.

I have to take pills for depression so I also have a mental illness.

Also, I remember as a young girl going to a state hospital to visit my grandmother who had schizophrenia. I’m well aware of how things used to be and am extremely protective of the rights of persons with mental illness.

People can be assured that numerous attorneys specializing in mental health law have been consulted regarding SB2296 to ensure citizens’ rights are protected and that many safeguards are in place.

If your readers would like to help, they can start today by contacting their representative and asking them to vote “yes” on SB2296 when it comes on the House floor. Next, they can question the deep budget cuts being proposed for the local Human Service Centers – often the only link people with mental illness have to services that provide the support they need to live independently. Next session, they can look for and support parity, which requires medical insurance companies to provide the same coverage for neurological conditions as they do for any other medical problem.

We need to get out of the Dark Ages in terms of how we view and treat those who struggle so courageously in the face of this medical condition.

Ogren Spear, formerly of Fargo, lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

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