NOVEMBER 5, 2008 | THE MEREDITH HERALD - Educating Women to Excel [ VOL XXVI • ISSUE 7
GUITAR HERO
(SEE PAGE 4)
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HOMELESSNESS IN RALEIGH
by Morgan Ericson
Staff Writer
Pholas courlasy City o! Raleigh
The many faces of hometessness
Although the Triangle has not ex
perienced the worst of the nation’s
economic crisis, the area has begun
to feel the effects in the,areas of
unemployment, foreclosures, apart
ment evictions and homelessness.
According to an editorial published
in the News & Observer on Aug. 23,
2008, in July of 2008 North Caro
lina faced .a 6.6% unemployment
rate in comparison with the national
rate of 5.7%.
In the past year,, the nation has
watched in horror as loans default
ed and homebuyers did not have a
suitable credit history to purchase
housing. Landlords have foreclosed
oh their properties, forcing their ten
ants to leave, Although it can be dif
ficult to pity car dealers, they have
experienced a 30% drop in sales
in the last month;* the fact that the
auto industry supplies 1 in 10 jobs
in this country is not reassuring
(USA’^day).
Homelessness is rising on a na
tional level as families are being
evicted and cannot purchase afford
able housing. Within the Triangle
homelessness has now become an
issue on two fronts: the economic
crisis and housing collapse, in addi
tion to the closing of Dorothea Dix
Hospital, have pushed people to the
streets. Chaos.
Complex issues, lawsuits and
disagreements surround the closing
of Dorothea Dix Hospital, a psychi
atric institution which serves over
sixteen counties in North Carolina.
One of the greater controversies
pertains to Central Regional Hospi
tal in Butner, North Carolina, where
many Dorothea Dix patients will
be transferred.
Lawyers for Disability Rights
North Carolina filed a lawsuit
against the hospital and suggested a
delay in transferring patients there,
claiming that the security system
issues false alarms, staffing levels
are sometimes insufficient, and that
there have been leaks in the roof
and problems with the air condition
ing system. A delay in closing the
hospital was upheld after reports
surfaced that the staff of Central Re
gional Hospital had been claiming
Dorothea Dix’s voucher number for
insurance claims since they are still
not federally accredited... Despite
all this mess, Governor Easley and
the courts have continued to sug
gest the closing of Dorothea Dix,
much to. the rage of staff doctors
and citizens.
The result? Psychiatric patients
without private insurance will be
come homeless if they cannot find
a hospital local enough to be admit
ted to. Another problem arises with
respect to costs in transportation.
According to an N&O article by
Lynn Bonner, members of the Wake
County chapter of the National Alli
ance on Mental Illness reported that
huge amounts of money are spent
annually on transporting the men
tally ill to hospitals. Sheriffs have
estimated that the cost in time for
the police department averaged $3.7
million annually, a statistic which
will only worsen with the ensuing
closure of Dorothea Dix.
Although many organizations ex
ist to provide homeless people with
food, temporary shelter, clothing
and other essentials, the new wave
of homelessness resuhing from the
hospital’s closure and the housing
crisis will probably deplete some of
these resources. Also, even though
See HOMELESSNESS, PAGE 2
Green Tip for
the Week of
October 27
Reduce waste by
bringing your lunch in
a reusable lunch box.
During the 2008-09 academic
year, Meredith College’s cam
pus theme is “Sustaining our
Environment: Developing
our Greenprint.” To help the
Meredith community make
daily choices that are ben
eficial to the environment,
Angels for the Environmerjt
have compiled a year's worth
of tips for greener living.
To view green tips from
previous weeks, visit www.
meredith.edu/campus-theme/
environmental-tips.htm.