Faith
Leaders’ Statement of Support
for
THE
NORTH RIVER MENTAL HEALTH CENTER, 5801 North Pulaski Road
We,
the undersigned, are members of Chicago’s many and diverse
faith
communities
who feel compelled by moral imperative and human compassion to speak
out in a
unified voice to the elected officials in Chicago’s City
Council,
Mayor Richard
Daley, and his administration. We urge swift passage and implementation
of the Chicago
Expanded Mental Health Services
Ordinance submitted by Alderman
William J. P. Banks (36) last July
30,
2008. We voice our support for this ordinance as a matter of justice
for those
afflicted with mental and emotional distress. We do so as
representatives of
many faiths, on behalf of our congregations of the faithful, and as
Chicago citizens
who see this proposed reform as the better answer to the other solution
offered
by the City of Chicago: years of drastic cutbacks of mental health
services and
the inevitable termination of the North River Mental Health Center.
This
legislation will allow mental health services at the North River
Mental
Health
Center
to be greatly expanded and available to all. We are convinced that this
ordinance will not only transform our community but, given the needed
support,
serve as a model that could be used across the city to bring with it
hope for
our suffering fellow citizens, as well as healing and wholeness for our
communities.
We
have reached this decision based on a number of factors:
(see
attached fact sheet for further
information)
·
There
is a
demonstrable need. The US
Surgeon General and the National Institute for Mental Health both
conclude that
during the next six months more than 25,000 adults in the North River
catchment
area will suffer from a diagnosable mental or emotional illness;
·
There
is
overwhelming support for sustaining
and expanding mental health services. With 23,492 residents (70.9%)
voting to
raise their taxes in the November 4, 2008 election, the source for
funding is
no longer a question. Our neighbors have made us very proud; and
·
There
are
huge economic and social costs
of inaction. Estimates from the Harvard School of Public Health show
that
untreated mental illness costs Chicago taxpayers $3.1 billion per year. Increased
mental health services, such as
those proposed for North River, can disrupt the cycle of violence,
reduce
long-term medical costs, and reduce costs incurred by local businesses
and
employers.
Given
these facts, we cannot understand why our elected leaders have not
taken
immediate action on this proposal. Therefore
we have joined together to affirm our common moral beliefs and call for
the
immediate passage of the Chicago
Expanded
Mental Health Services Ordinance.
We will not sit by silently and
watch as
the mentally ill suffer and the will of the voters is ignored by our
elected
officials. The compassionate residents of our community sent a message
through
their overwhelming vote on November 4 to pass this ordinance. We laud
and
applaud them and add our voice to theirs.
Alderman
Thomas Allen (38), Alderman Rey Colón (35), Alderman
Margaret
Laurino (39),
Alderman Patrick Levar (45), Alderman Richard Mell (33), Alderman
Patrick
O’Connor (40), Alderman Ariel Reboyras (30), Alderman Bernard
Stone (50), and
Alderman Ray Suarez (31)—we hope that you, together with the
rest
of the City
Council and Mayor Richard M. Daley, will hear us and take action now.
We,
the undersigned, affix our signature to this document indicating our
approval
of and agreement with this document as it is presented.
