Anything that any of us can do to educate the public on mental health issues and how to help their loved ones or even strangers in need is so important for our community. NAMI Victoria has been here since February 2005 and we try, usually succeeding, in having a professional come talk at our monthly meetings every 3rd Monday night of the month FREE of charge. Our speakers educate us on all aspects of mental illness and answer all the questions they can. We usually have our faithfuls come to learn monthly but it still amazes me that more people are not interested in learning and getting help with mental illness {FREE of charge}. The Victoria Advocate has been very helpful to put our meetings in the paper but I don't think most people know that our meetings are educational also. Gulf Bend has done the best they can with the funds they receive. Our speakers donate their time free of charge to the public. We constantly get calls from people in a panic of what to do since big old Victoria doesn't even have a place for their loved ones to go to that are having a mental crisis. Many folks won't even tell their doctor or anyone when they are heading for a melt down due to the fact that they do not want to ride in the back of a police car like a criminal to the state hospital where people there are usually far worst off then they are. Imagine if that was you stuck in a ward with seriously ill people and scared to death to go to sleep for fear of your safety...Yes kinda scary. Clearly not enough people in Victoria are interested in taking care of the mentally ill. Most mental illnesses are biological as well as heart, kidney, diabetics and many other illnesses that people are BORN with. And if that isn't discusting enough try to find a doctor that will take insurance without making you pay up front or that takes Medicare/Medicaid. Shame on us here in Victoria......I know as a Community we could do much better.
San Antonio has a set-up to keep the mentally ill out of jail that has been extremely successful. Our law officers are interested in this plan but NO MONEY. And we do have people sitting in jail due to no where to put them while when waiting for an opening in a proper faciliaty.

Let me clarify--I did not mean these folks needing emergency mental health services were sitting in jail.

What they are really doing is sitting at Citizens Medical Center, under the watchful eye of a Victoria Police officer. More often than not, they are eventually released to go home.

If they are determined to need further hospitalization and stabilization, the Victoria County Sheriff's Department has an officer transport them to a state mental hospital in the valley, or San Antonio or Austin.

Since it is more cost effective to eventually release folks to go home, I'll let you decide if this is the best we can be doing in this progressive, growing, on the 'cusp of greatness' town.

I totally agree with Edith Ann. Persons with mental health issues shouldn't be taking up space in our County Jails. There needs to be a Diversion Program to keep them out of trouble and out of the Justice System and State Run Facilities where they are subjected to physical and sexual abuse.

Still fighting mental health.

The Advocate has pushed for mental health care in Victoria? When?

Where was the Advocate when David Brown abruptly closed the psych ward at Citizens Medical Center? Where was the scathing editorial on how this booming city--always on the cusp of great things--was now without any emergency mental health services? When was the Commissioners Court chastised for allowing Brown to do this?

This effort by Gulf Bend and the Advocate's coverage of it is better than nothing. But, if the Advocate had devoted only half of the print space it has to singing the praises of Dale Fowler bringing CAT to town, and the downward expansion of UHV to demanding that our county hospital provide emergency mental health services to those workers, their families and the new students--not to mention all the folks who have accessed these services in the past, we might not have to have an officer from VPD babysit the patient until someone decides where to send them out of town hours later.

"We've pushed for better mental health care in Victoria and the Crossroads." I disagree.