Jul 22, 2015 3 min read

After 30 years of service as executive director of Mental Health Association of Washington County, I should be used to the comments of the misinformed and misguided. But when that applies to our congressman, I am appalled.

I know hyperbole is the norm for political discourse, but some of U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy’s statements in his July 10 letter are so inaccurate they cannot be ignored,

First of all, 50 years ago, when “we had half a million hospital beds,” people were basically warehoused in state mental hospitals. “Cures” included lobotomies, ice baths and physical and chemical restraints. Medications were limited in their success, and often had devastating side effects, which included bodily tremors and impaired speech. Because of this, Mental Health Association was founded in 1909 and its symbol, the Mental Health Bell, was forged from the shackles that were used to restrain people with mental illness.

For 50 years, Mental Health Association of Washington County has followed its vision, where community members with mental-health issues are accepted, not stigmatized, and have an opportunity to reach their full potential. Through advocacy, education and comprehensive services, we foster opportunities for growth, recovery, inclusion and, most importantly, hope.

Since 1992, we have operated a long-term, structured residence in Bentleyville. This program has an 83 percent success rate in helping people with serious mental illness. Our first 16 residents were all former patients of Mayview State Hospital, the South Fayette Township facility that closed in 2008. Some of them were there for almost 20 years. Now, many have fully re-entered the community and re-established relationships with their families. Hospitalization and medication by themselves do not yield those results.

Washington County, as well as Allegheny, Beaver, Greene and Lawrence counties, planned for three years before the closing of Mayview State Hospital. Each patient left with a detailed community support treatment plan. No one discharged in Washington County experienced homelessness. The cost of supporting people in the community was 77 percent less than hospitalization. Since then, more than 1,200 people who would have been admitted to a state hospital were supported by services in the community.

Over the past five years, state budget cuts negatively impacted the network of services that were designed to serve this population. This resulted in reductions in staff positions and some programs.

Our system in Pennsylvania is not broken. It has been betrayed and ravaged by politicians, but it is still successful in helping people recover from mental illness. It deserves support, not vilification.

Lynne M. Loresch

Washington

Loresch is the executive director of Mental Health Association of Washington County.