Mental Health Crisis in NC
Gianna Tieri, Staff Writer
In July 2011, the U.S. Department
of Justice found that North Carolina
has violated the civil rights of 6,000
people with mental illnesses by
failing to provide them with proper
treatment. Dorothea Dix Hospital,
once a pioneer in mental health
research and treatment, has been
shut down after 156 years. “Provid
ing help to young adults with mental
illness in North Carolina is at a cri
sis,” says Meredith College sociology
professor Dr. Lori Brown.
Chris Fitzsimon, executive director
of N.C. Policy Watch, believes that
the current predicament for people
with mental illnesses comes from
“the disastrous 2001 mental health
reform scheme.” Bob Geary, in an
article for the Independent Weekly,
writes that this reform package was
supposed to employ newer methods
of care, including “community-based
programs, [and] modern psychiatric
and psychotropic (drug) therapies.”
Over ten years of budget cuts,
political maneuvering, and poor
organization, the medical needs and
civil rights of people with mental ill
nesses have plummeted down politi
cal priority lists. Although Dorothea
Dix patients have been transferred to
other facilities, they are often places
without adequate plans or resources
to provide quality care.
In July 2010, advocacy group Dis
ability Rights of North Carolina filed
a complaint with the U.S. Depart
ment of Justice to help improve
patient care. U.S. Assistant Attorney
General Thomas Perez stated that
many patients that could have been
treated with out-patient care were
“relegated indefinitely and unneces
sarily to adult care homes because of
systemic state actions and policies.”
Vicki Smith, executive director of
Disability Rights NG, believes that
“the state’s bias towards institu
tionalization of people with mental
illness has gone unchecked for far
too long.”
The National Alliance on Men
tal Illness (http://www.nami.org/)
defines mental illnesses as “medical
conditions that disrupt a person’s
thinking, feeling, mood, ability to
relate to others and daily function
ing.” An estimate by the National
Institute of Mental Health reports
that mental illness affects one in
four adults each year or approxi
mately 57.7 million Americans.
Mental illness can happen to any
one at any age. According to NAMI,
“mental illness usually strikes indi
viduals in the prime of their lives,
often during adolescence and young
adulthood.” NAMI also points out
that untreated mental illness has
“staggering” consequences in our
society, such as “unnecessary dis
ability, unemployment, substance
abuse, homelessness, inappropriate
incarceration, suicide and wasted
lives” and also observes that “the
economic cost of untreated mental
illness is more than 100 billion dol
lars each year in the United States.”
Misperceptions about mental ill
ness have created stereotypes and
social stigma. Suzanne Britt, assistant
English professor at Meredith Col
lege, believes this “stigma arises from
the notion that people who have com
fortable lives are simply being hypo
chondriacs or whiners. Mental illness
can lead to suicide, and suicide is a
logical outcome of an illogical public
perception.” Britt believes that those
with mental illness might be hesi
tant to discuss their disease because
“having a cold or the flu is one thing.
Hearing voices or being obsessive
compulsive—those are quite another.”
Meredith sociology professor Dr.
Brown stresses the importance in our
own campus community. She says
that a Meredith College student in
crisis, with or without health insur
ance, “could wait a day or two in an
emergency room for a hospital bed
and leave the hospital with prescrip
tions she can’t afford to have filled.”
Our family members, friends, and
classmates need more than our
compassion—they need proper medi
cal care.
26th Annual International Festival
Raleigh celebrated its 26th an
nual International Festival featur
ing world music, food, and culture
with the participation of over 50
different groups from around the
globe. The first International Festi
val was held in October 1986 at the
Raleigh Civic Center. 25 ethnicities
participated, and the event became
a success that continues to be a fa
vorite celebration of world culture
in the Triangle.
The International Festival of
Raleigh, now one of the main cul
tural and artistic offerings of the
Triangle, provides a platform for
multinational cultural groups and
non-profits to make cultures ac-
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cessible to each other through art,
education, and community.
The three-day festival features
traditional ethnic dances, au
thentic food, cultural exhibits,
international bands and musical
performances, and bazaars for arts
and crafts from over 50 countries.
The naturalization ceremony has
been the grand opening for the
festival since 1988, a tribute to the
citizenship of 240 new Americans
welcomed to Raleigh. Cultural
exhibits provided information on
the rich history and traditions
of different cultures, while live
performances and ethnic dances
from over 30 different countries
on the main stage also entertained
festival-goers. Marzia Nawroi, a
junior at Meredith College and one
of the participants of the event,
loves “seeing people of different
cultures, ethnicities, and back
grounds with their families and
children having a great time there
and enjoying the offerings of the
Festival. The International Festival
proved to be a success in celebrat
ing international diversity.”
The increased number of food
booths and ethnic cooking dem
onstrations as well as dance and
craft lessons and activities made
this year’s festival even more fun.
Nawrozi added that, “The variety
of food, games, arts and crafts, and
colorful costumes were very excit
ing for the kids as well as adults.”
Meredith College’s Model United
Nations Club, which has been
participating in the festival for two
years, was one of the participants
this year as well. The MUN booth
was staffed by several Meredith
College students. Nawrozi added
that “one of the main objectives
of having the Meredith College
MUN booth at the festival was to
educate people about the U.N. and
its mission as well as to encourage
them to get people’s signatures for
Congress to persuade the U.S. to
participate more in the U.N.”
The celebration of the festival’s
26th anniversary was another
cause for celebration for the mul
ticultural community of Raleigh
with the participation of hundreds
of people from varying cultural
backgrounds.