Saturday, August 4, 2012

Why Are We Cutting Mental Health?



Anyone who has lived in Fairfax for any length of time knows that this town has more than its share of psychotics. As of matter of fact I’d say that there’s a significant part of our population that is simply out of their minds. I blame the traffic.


But regardless of the cause, does it make any sense for the County to be cutting back on mental health services?


Well that is exactly what’s going on, to the tune of $9.5 million.


An opinion in the Fairfax Times lays it all out there. I’m not going to re-state the arguments, but I will add my two cents.


We the tax paying public are going to pay for all these mentally ill people one way or another. If they aren’t getting treatment in the hospitals, then they are going to be spending time in the jails and shelters while diverting law enforcement resources to deal with them.


But at least with treatment, there’s a chance that we can save some of these crazies from themselves. Hell, maybe some of them will be able to live normal lives. 


That’s a lot better than the alternative.


So yeah, Board of Supervisors. Go out there and figure something out.  I’m sure there’s other places we can make cuts that won’t be nearly as damaging to our community!

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