Make mental health funding a priority

To the editor:

Thanks to Iowa's changes in mental health care, placement openings are far and few between for adult Iowans who need ICF/ID level support. This is a level of support for those who need intensive care, close supervision and highly trained personnel to succeed and thrive.

My daughter was just starting to get settled in Park Place in Glenwood, Iowa, and I was feeling confident and relieved with the exceptional level of care she was receiving when I was notified that they are going to be closing due to financing and the dwindling funding. More than 70 individuals will need to find new placements.

Why isn't the state worried about and supporting our most vulnerable population? Why are families forced to live in fear and concern that their loved ones will no longer have a place to live? Most people who are placed in these facilities need a level of care that families are not able to, trained to or equipped to provide. A large number do not do well in community based scenarios. The number of ICF/ID openings is dwindling at a rapid pace and I urge all Iowans to ask our representatives and our governor where their priorities are. Then I ask them to put their money where their rhetoric is. We all pay very high taxes to provide infrastructure and services to all Iowans yet this seems to be the lowest priority and most easily forgotten population. We should be ashamed.

Deena Nelson

Cedar Rapids