Addressing Mental Health and Homelessness

Key Issues: Homelessness, Lack of mental health resources, High rates of untreated mental illness

Amend Existing Laws:

• Behavioral Health Act (Title 19 V.I.C. Chapter 45): Governs the treatment of individuals with mental illnesses.
  • Make lawful mental illness determinations automatically eligible for Medicaid, get an identification, and receive care. Legislate an ombudsman that would deal with these issues
  • Increase funding for mental health services, especially crisis intervention units.
  • Add provisions for early screening programs in schools to identify and address mental health issues at a young age.
  • Expand the scope of Involuntary Commitment Laws to include preemptive measures that allow healthcare providers to intervene before a person becomes a danger to themselves or others. This would reduce the number of untreated mental health cases escalating into crises
• Involuntary Commitment Law (Title 19 V.I.C. Chapter 31): Regulates the involuntary commitment of individuals with severe mental illness.
  • Make lawful determinations of individuals in need of mental health to be committed, evaluated, and treated.

New Initiatives:

• Mental Health Court: Regulate medication supplies, train judges presiding over mental health patients, and require the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health representation. Patients would have one place they go to and a judge who is familiar with mental health challenges and who prioritizes help over incarceration.
• Repurpose Anna’s Hope Detention Center: Revise the law to require the Department of Health to seek a partner to convert this facility into a state-of-the-art mental health center with comprehensive services, including crisis stabilization and long-term care with a mobile care unit for remote services.