Mental Illness

May 21 2013

One of several proposals for Men’s Central Jail

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors agreed today to consider building a treatment center to house mentally ill inmates as one of several alternatives to a proposed $933 million rebuild of downtown Men’s Central Jail.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky recommended the treatment center be added to options being studied to solve jail overcrowding at the urging of Assistant Sheriff Terri McDonald, who oversees the county jail system.

Apr 30 2013

Manic episodes can be “severe and dangerous"

Catherine Zeta-Jones previously has said she has bipolar II disorder
Mayo Clinic: Disorder “affects parts of the brain controlling emotion, thought and drive”
It includes periods of depression alternating with a mild form of mania
 

Apr 2 2013

In the middle of the street yelling and screaming

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Paramedics transported a 50-year-old man to the hospital in cardiac arrest after he was detained by officers for yelling, screaming and interfering with traffic at a South Los Angeles intersection, police said today.

The incident at the intersection of 51st Street and Wall, just east of Main Street, took place about 10:45 p.m. Monday, said Sgt. David Garland, watch commander at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Newton Station.

May 10 2012

Improve medication adherence

People suffering from depression are less likely to stick to a medication regimen to treat chronic health problems, putting them at increased risk of more serious health issues, according to a study released by the Santa Monica-based RAND Corp.

The study found that depressed patients suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease were 76 percent less likely to adhere to their medication schedule, when compared to patients who are not depressed.

Sep 23 2011

The search for treatment among African Americans

Say mental illness in the African American community, and most likely you will cause a pause in conversations as large as the white elephant in the room. Mental illness has a disturbing and persistently negative history in the Black community throughout the United States.

Fueled by mistrust of a system that often views Black people as nothing more than guinea pigs ripe for experimentation, accepting the label “mentally ill” comes with a huge stigma.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.