Suicidal tendencies

G, I would also Highly Recommend that her/your local Human Rights Committee be contacted. Part of their job is to investigate reports of this nature. They can also be great sources of information on who else should be contacted in that area for further reports, supportive services, etc.

I don’t think it matters much whether it’s you or your friend who makes the initial contact with the Chair of that committee. Once contact has been established, that may change. The Chair could explain all this in more detail.
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Below, I show how to get the contact info for a local Human Rights Committee by outlining the “steps” I took to get that info for myself here in Ashe…ville, NC. You can use this example as a guide for locating the equivalent organizations in your area. See the footnotes for the self-descriptions they provide on their websites.

1. U.S. Government [No Footnote]

http://www DOT usa DOT gov/

Enter the name of your State in the Search box. In the Search Results, look for the official site for your State government. Please note that it may NOT be the first result listed; however, it’s usually one of the first three listings.

2. State of North Carolina [No Footnote]

http://www DOT ncgov DOT com/

Click on “NC Agencies Web Sites” on the lefthand side of the home page. Then click on the link for Health and Human Services.

3. North Carolina Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Website: http://www DOT ncdhhs DOT gov/mhddsas/index DOT htm

On their website, you can locate mental health services most easily by clicking on “Divisions” at the top of their main page. Then click on the link for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services

4. North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services.

Website: http://www DOT ncdhhs DOT gov/mhddsas/index DOT htm

Click on “Local Contacts” at the top of the page. Here you’ll find a listing of LMEs by county. Click on the link for your county.

NCDMHDDSAS description of LMEs is in the footnotes as 4A.

5. Western Highlands Network LME

http://www DOT westernhighlands DOT org/

Click on Community. Then click on “Committees” under “WHN BOARD” for lists. Next. click on “Human Rights Advisory Committee” and you’ll find that Nancy Carey is the Chairperson.

WHN does NOT list any contact information for their Board Members on their website nor will they provide you with that information.

However, -I- will (with Nancy’s permission). Her phone number is 675-5271. You can reach her via email (rcarey@yancey DOT main DOT nc DOT us) but be sure to include something along the lines of “ATTENTION NANCY! Serious Human Rights Issue Herein” in the Subject Line. She’s just an ordinary person who doesn’t much like the computer, so doing that would make it a little easier for her AND ensure that your email doesn’t get lost in the shuffle 😉

WHN lists Lynn Trotter as the contact person for this committee. I Highly recommend that you do NOT call Lynn. She’ll just BS you, albeit usually sweetly, and nothing will happen to your complaint.
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This has taken a couple of hours for me to get all this straight so that folks in other areas of the country could use this to locate their own local Human Rights Committee. So now I have to go catch up on other stuff. Hope this helps someone!

And, G, please know that I care about you and am usually available for phone calls between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at 296-7589. I screen ALL calls, so you have to speak up after the beep, tell me who you are, and give me a minute to get to the phone.

I am SO terrible about making phone calls myself. Please do NOT take that personally. Okay?

Love… Sky

——–FOOTNOTES——–

3. “The Department [of Health and Human Services] is divided into 30 divisions and offices. DHHS divisions and offices fall under four broad service areas – health, human services, administrative, and support functions.

DHHS also oversees 18 facilities: mental retardation centers, psychiatric hospitals, alcohol and drug abuse treatment centers, schools, early intervention programs, and one special care center.”

4. NC Division of MH/DD/SAS: “The Division’s organizational structure is designed to implement the State Plan and reform efforts. The substance of the Division’s goals and objectives will guide the development of the workings of the Division and that work will be carried out through this organizational structure.

The Division’s central administration consists of the Director’s Office and five sections organized along functional lines. The five sections of the Division are State Operated Services, Community Policy Management, Resource/Regulatory Management, Advocacy and Customer Services, and Operations Support. The Division’s state facilities consist of four regional psychiatric hospitals, four developmental disabilities centers, three substance abuse treatment centers, a specialty nursing facility for consumers with mental illness, a specialty nursing facility for consumers with developmental disabilities, and two residential facilities for children with emotional disturbances.”

4A. “Local Management Entities (LMEs) are agencies of local government-area authorities or county programs-who are responsible for managing, coordinating, facilitating and monitoring the provision of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services in the catchment area served. LME responsibilities include offering consumers 24/7/365 access to services, developing and overseeing providers, and handling consumer complaints and grievances.”

5. “Western Highlands Network connects mental health, substance abuse and developmental disability care providers with the WNC community.”