Chicago, Don't Leave Mental Health Patients Stranded!
"My therapist is a matter of life and death because I have no one," says Chicago resident Helen Morley. But Morley is one of the 2,549 patients that will be displaced if her mental health clinic closes, along with five others. Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to "consolidate" twelve mental health facilities into six, effectively closing clinics in five mixed income and predominantly Black Chicago neighborhoods.
The proposed closures go against the strongly-worded advice of the Mental Health Movement. That group believes the closings will NOT be a more effective use of public money. In fact, the Mental Health Movement points out that 1100 of the displaced patients will simply use their Medicaid benefits for more expensive private health care.
Tell Mayor Emanuel to keep mental health clinics near the patients they need to serve. Tell him not to close six Chicago clinics.
We the undersigned respectfully ask that you reconsider your proposal to close six mental health clinics in Chicago. Doing so will most hurt the poor who cannot easily afford a car or cab fare to a clinic far away from where they live. Your proposal for "consolidation" also disproportionately targets African Americans and Hispanics. Please listen to patients like Helen Morley who need their therapists and who need those therapists to stay where they are. Don't slam clinic doors on those who most need affordable health care.
