Martha Brock: Dix deal won’t benefit mentally ill

The April 25 news article “Council OKs Dix property purchase” listed all the main points of the very long Dorothea Dix property contract.

One of the more disturbing points is that it provides for sharing of proceeds of a sale or lease of a part of the campus, even though civic boosters (especially the “Dix Visionaries”) have promoted the sale as a way to protect the property and prevent its commercial development. Now it appears that the city and the state may not use all of the land for a park after all.

The April 30 editorial “Dix deal” stated, “should the city decide to sell or lease any part of the property, the state of North Carolina could get a chunk of the proceeds for up to 17 years. ... The money from the purchase will go for mental health services, and that’s exactly how it should be.”

It is doubtful the intended beneficiaries of the state facility at its founding in mid-1800s will see a dime of any “proceeds of a sale or lease.”

As NAMI-NC correctly pointed out in its statement regarding “the Dix Deal,” we have had many broken promises involving N.C. DHHS and funding for mental health services.

This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Martha Brock: Dix deal won’t benefit mentally ill."