Bill pushes for more help for mentally ill

SANTA FE – Family members of the mentally ill are shepherding a bill through the Legislature they hope will mark the beginning of a statewide effort to keep those with mental illness out of hospitals and jails, and safely in their communities.

House Bill 588 tells the state Department of Health to create a five-year pilot project to set up “community engagement teams” in cities or counties that could intervene to provide help for the mentally ill before they reach a crisis point.

The idea is to create a safety net, said Susan Vescovo , whose 38-year-old son has schizophrenia and has been a “revolving-door hospital client” for much of his life.

“They don’t wait for you to hit bottom … requiring involuntary hospitalization,” said Vescovo, the daughter of Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, a longtime advocate for the mentally ill.

She and others who appeared at a news conference Wednesday said that often the mentally ill are in deep crisis, or threatening themselves or others, before help is made available.

“Until you reach that point, it’s very difficult to get assistance for these individuals,” said Patsy Romero, chairwoman of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New Mexico.

The “community engagement teams” – which family members, for example, could request to step in – would encourage the mentally ill to voluntarily get services, and would serve as a link to those services.

The legislation has passed the House unanimously and, with less than three days to go in the 60-day session, was pending in the Senate.

Some members of the public are concerned about the role of the “community engagement teams,” questioning whether they would fully inform people they approached about their right to refuse treatment and drugs.

The bill’s sponsor, House Majority Leader Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque, and other supporters said the teams would be trained to engage people without coercing them, and there would be no forced treatment or medication.

The first year of the pilot project would be spent planning and developing standards for the program.
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal