Congratulations to staff writer Christi Parsons for her excellent report on the closure of the Meyer Mental Health Center in Decatur. While it still may be too early to evaluate the success of Gov. Jim Edgar’s decision to close the facility, experience in states throughout the nation proves that downsizing and closure of these outmoded institutions are the best ways to go to help people with mental illness or developmental disabilities.
But as the article points out, the state must support a strong community-based service system if such moves are to be successful. Otherwise, de-institutionalization will merely be the dumping of persons into the streets or into nursing homes that are more concerned with making a profit than habilitating people with mental disabilities.
The closing of Meyer is a big step in the right direction.
