KNIGHTDALE -- When Dorothea Dix came to North Carolina in the mid 19th century, her vision was to get people with serious mental illnesses out of prison dungeons and into a safe haven. She did this by impassioned speeches to legislators about the poor conditions. She was successful in obtaining funding to begin building North Carolina's first state hospital, in Raleigh. She also made a nearly successful attempt to get Congress to set aside 5 million acres in federal land grants that would be used to endow state mental hospitals.
As late as 1974, Dorothea Dix Hospital had facilities to accommodate 2,756 patients, and had 2,354 acres of prime land. Over the past 37 years, previous governors have whittled away at the Dix land for other uses, such as the State Farmers Market and for N.C. State University.
Now the total number of hospital beds in all state hospitals is down to 961. All this, while patients with mental illness have had more and more difficulty in obtaining the services they need to live successfully in the community.
Preserving the rest of the beautiful, historic Dix site for future generations is a wonderful legacy to a pioneering advocate for mental health. The Dix Visionaries board of directors is a virtual Who's Who of wealth, philanthropy and influence in the state.
Three former governors top its Business Advisory Committee. The list of advocates for the destination park project includes leaders from business and government. The list of contributors is impressive. The park's appeal is to people of all political persuasions. The dedication and progress in achieving their goal is impressive.
Still, I am not comfortable defining a Dix Visionary as someone who is willing to invest time, influence and finances in a tract of land for a park rather than at least providing an equal investment in caring about people with serious mental illnesses who are filling our emergency departments, prisons, streets and homeless shelters.
Funding and support for housing, rehabilitation and treatment programs are not available. Sadly, the state has suffered from the lack of leadership and passion for mental health programs and services.
My dream is that the Dix Visionaries will broaden their vision and establish and assist in funding a private Dix Foundation. The mission would be to raise funds to expand model mental health programs in North Carolina communities, perhaps starting with the legacy of Dorothea Dix to use proceeds from the land to endow the foundation.
It is time for the people whom many mental health advocates admire - those who are a part of the Dix Visionaries organization - to help get our state back on track with mental health services.
