Update: Va. pol weighs in to expand service
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A weekend editorial in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, by House of Delegate Representative Jennifer McClellan, urged the General Assembly not to make hasty decisions for long-term solutions to the mental health crisis in Virginia. Structural, financial, personnel, and other residual needs were under discussion before Virginia Tech renewed attention, adding to the intensity of the debate. The General Assembly meets biannually for 60 days, and McLellan (D) represents the 71st Dsitrict. A number of controversial bills for involuntary commitment have diverted attention from updating community services.
Meanwhile, responding to current deficits in Richmond's jails, Mayor L. Douglas Wilder is reviewing proposals from a special commission recommending additional qualified professionals, increasing the number of acceptable medications, and seeking discharge plans, according to an article in the Times-Dispatch. In a recent editorial the paper encouraged reform:
We believe the punishment should fit the crime. And we believe people who are tormented by mental illness deserve treatment -- for their sake and for the sake of the entire community. Mayor Wilder must take the lead -- and he must begin today.
