Mississippi fights lawsuit over reliance on mental hospitals

JACKSON, MISS. -- As the federal government tries to compel Mississippi to give mentally ill people more options to get the treatment they need in their own communities, the experiences of Harold Biggs and Pamela Kirby offer a sharp contrast.

Biggs, 75, has tried for decades to get help for his adult daughter, who has borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder with schizoid affect and intellectual disabilities. For most of that time, he's felt that his only option was to ask a judge to confine her to a state mental hospital, where she's spent 12 of the last 24 years. And during her time on the outside, Biggs says she often doesn't get adequate treatment or supervision.

"I feel terrible about it to have to do that," Biggs testified earlier this month in federal court. "I feel responsible in a lot of ways. I'm the one who has to do the commitment."

U.S. Justice Department lawyers who are suing the state in a trial that began June 4 say that Biggs' experience is too often typical. In 2014, the most recent year with figures available, Mississippi had the nation's highest per capita number of people in government psychiatric hospitals. Mississippi spends more per capita on mental health than any neighboring state, and 2018 federal figures show adults are twice as likely to be hospitalized in Mississippi as nationwide.

Read more: https://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/article231973972.html
(Gulfport Sun Herald)