Consider the case of Matt (not his real name,) a promising football player and product of Aurora Public Schools. Sidelined with painful injuries after a brief career in the Canadian Football League, Matt turned to drugs and alcohol to combat physical pain and depression. He estimated that before attempting suicide, he was treated in emergency rooms more than 20 times, the cost of which was passed on to you and me.
Matt got his life under control with treatment and his costly hospital visits stopped.
And here’s Ed’s story (again, not his real name): Once a promising auto mechanic with a wife and two children, his battle with depression and bipolar disorder began nine years ago. After years of drug and alcohol abuse, he lost his family and ended up on the street, where he began committing petty crimes. A cycle of arrest and punishment began. His crimes escalated from drunk and disorderly to bank robbery. Treatment at the Aurora Mental Health Center freed Ed from the cycle. He now teaches and mentors others.
Both of these men want their stories told and want me to speak of the power of treatment, not only to reduce suffering, but to save tax dollars. People with mental illness who do not receive help can unnecessarily clog our legal and health-care systems, making those systems more costly and less efficient. In our schools, bullying, truancy and problems at home are keeping our kids from achieving their highest potential.
The ballot proposal on May 2 will create a mental health service district to deliver programs and services to thousands of Aurorans who suffer with the challenges of mental illness. To finance the district, a sales tax increase of 2 cents on a $10 purchase is proposed. It’s expected the service district will raise about $8 million per year, with about $1 million spent in public schools in Aurora. Another $1 million will go to create a mental health court to help break the costly cycle of arrest and punishment. The balance will bring treatment and supportive services to thousands of uninsured and underinsured Aurorans with mental illness.
There are good people for and against this election on May 2. While I believe local issues are better discussed and understood outside the hoopla of contested gubernatorial or presidential races, many people feel the opposite.
The mayor, city council and other well-meaning individuals are agreeing that there is a critical need for these services but say that the election should be in November. Our clients and the Aurora citizens who currently can’t get the services they need can only benefit from the support being shown for their issues.
We have a wonderful opportunity in the future to have the city council, the mayor and a large cadre of new supporters help get this critical message out. But I hope the voters will agree with me and vote “yes” on May 2. Then these services can be available sooner rather than later and we can save the cost of a second campaign and election.
There is a health care crisis in Aurora and it touches every one of us. It’s affecting the way our schools deliver a quality education to our kids. It’s affecting our ability to fight crime in Aurora. It’s affecting jobs when employees have to worry about themselves or loved ones. It’s affecting the cost of health-care services and health insurance for everyone. But most of all it affects the other Matts and Eds still out there who want to brave the path to recovery need services that are not available.We must make those services available.
Vote “yes” May 2. Help Aurorans who need it most.
Randy Stith is executive director of the Aurora Mental Health Center
