Editorial: Strengthen the grip on mental illness

A spate of police shootings has thrown a spotlight on society’s deficiencies in dealing with mental illness – a health care issue that’s struggled to gain attention and resources.

The mentally ill continually fall through a second-rate safety net, and when they land, it’s up to law enforcement to pick up the pieces. That’s not fair to people in need of care or to police officers, who simply don’t have the training to deal with complex health issues.

Further up this chain of despair, the state’s two hospitals for mental health patients are in crisis, and the state is under a Supreme Court order to end “psychiatric boarding” – the practice of involuntarily admitting patients to hospital emergencies until they can be evaluated. The court has ruled this is a violation of civil rights and an indefensible solution to overcrowding at other facilities.

Spokane County Commissioner Shelly O’Quinn recently said the mental health issue could be the state’s next “McCleary,” a reference to the Supreme Court taking charge of the basic education funding issue after decades of legislative inaction.

She could very well be right, because the political tug-of-war on addressing mental health issues looks like a stalemate. Both sides say mental health issues require more money, but where it comes from is up for debate. Conservatives say re-prioritize spending. Liberals say raise more revenue.

Like basic education funding, the logjam isn’t likely to be broken unless the judiciary orders a solution. The state is not in a good legal position, and our leaders know it.

Nobody wins when mentally ill people are not getting treatment. Jails and shelters are stressed. Public safety deteriorates. Downtown businesses must deal with people acting out. It’s no wonder community leaders shuddered when the House of Charity announced in April that it would limit its hours due to a budget shortfall.

As Rob McCann, the executive director of Catholic Charities of Spokane, which runs the House of Charity, said in regard to downtown homeless people: “We’d rather have them here, they’d rather be here, downtown businesses would rather have them here.”

The House of Charity faces a deficit due, in part, to the shift in emphasis on securing long-term housing for the homeless. That’s a worthy goal, but it takes funds from temporary shelters.

City officials recently announced a commitment to keeping the House of Charity open around the clock as an emergency shelter. It pledged $200,000 and the Downtown Spokane Partnership pledged $50,000 to keep it open for the rest of this year. But city officials say they will need more partners to sustain 24/7 services in the long run.

All of this scrambling underscores a larger issue. Mental health care has struggled to reach parity with the rest of health care. A broken mind is more difficult to mend than a broken leg, and nobody gets turned away for the latter.

We need to refocus. Because as recent events demonstrate, it can be dangerous if we don’t.

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