Friday, September 27, 2002

Feds give $306K to provide housing for mentally ill
Maine Today story on a federal grant to the Kennebec Valley Mental Health Agency $306,000 to provide housing for the mentally ill here, "but another $450,000 is still needed to make the project happen."  
  

Cuts Threaten Addiction-Treatment Centers (Utah)
Salt Lake Tribune story- "Utahns addicted to drugs or alcohol are finding it harder to get help in the wake of recent funding cuts that have forced substance-abuse treatment centers to close or scale back their services. The problem is especially acute for low-income addicts who cannot afford to pay for residential treatment. Many centers are eliminating beds or services for such addicts while waiting lists of prospective clients grow longer, treatment providers say."  
  

Drug ecstasy could damage users' brains, research says
Toronto Globe and Mail story on research published in the journal Science which suggests that "young people who pop two or three ecstasy pills in one evening may kill a vast number of brain cells and put themselves at risk of neurological disorders later in life."  
  

Contempt of court (South Carolina)
Story at GreenvilleOnline.com - "The state Department of Mental Health and its director found themselves in contempt of court recently for not admitting mentally ill jail inmates more quickly into its secure hospital in Columbia for treatment."  
  

Mental Health Department Drops Legislation
Brief story at WSET - "Virginia's Mental Health Department has dropped its plans to seek legislation aimed at keeping active investigations of community services boards and private mental health providers out of the public eye."  
  

Foes Clash in Washington over Ritalin Use in Kids
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "- Adversaries in the debate over widespread prescribing of Ritalin and other stimulants to children squared off on Capitol Hill Thursday, only to arouse the ire of lawmakers who accused them of serving as fronts for the drug industry and religious groups."  
  

Omaha center to fill gap in mental-health system (Nebraska)
Omaha World-Herald story on the opening of the Spring Center, "part of a broader redesign of the Omaha area's mental-health system" which features 10 beds for people voluntarily committing themselves to inpatient treatment.