State's deficiencies

Regarding the Jan. 27 article "Eight days waiting with no bed for Joshua":

I am a parent of a mentally ill child, and my heart aches for Joshua's mom. Caring for a disabled child takes a tremendous toll on families even when they are stable. An episode of violence is especially heart-wrenching.

Knowing how that feels, I was outraged to read that Dr. Michael Lancaster said the state was waiting to provide care, hoping that "we could stabilize him in the crisis center where he was." How long did they plan to wait? The crisis facility is licensed as a 23-hour crisis and assessment facility, not a treatment center. If there were beds available, why did it take eight days to transfer him?

Apparently, our state's policymakers have built a moat around our state facilities to keep the patients outside. In the short term, that may save money, but at what long-term expense? Hospital emergency departments, shelters, jails and crisis centers are crowded with people who need real treatment. Law officers spend days accompanying patients as they wait for beds.

The situation is getting much worse as community treatment services are slashed and the state continually reinvents its mental health wheels.

Gerry Akland

President, National Alliance on Mental Illness Wake County

Knightdale