More Mental Health Issues in New Orleans
As I’ve written about before, metal health issues are going to be a problem in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast for years, if not decades to come. So this is a pretty amazing story.
The federal government has funneled more than $50 million to post-Katrina mental health programs in Louisiana, but the money comeswith strings attached. For example, state officials said they’re notallowed to spend it on doctors, reports The Times-Picayune.
Instead, the money is earmarked for traditional social service work, what the field calls “crisis counseling,” which can’t go beyond five meetings and can’t include anything physicians would label treatment. The money flows freely, however, to fund newly minted bureaucratic positions, a telephone hot line, massive literature dumps, therapy sessions featuring muffins and coffee, as well as the recruitment of victims, according to public records and interviews with professionals involved in the project.
What America do we live in? The Federal government gives a state money to help with mental health issues, but they can’t spend it on doctors. Ok, that makes total sense doesn’t it.
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