From the AP:

NEW ORLEANS – Mental health problems soared after Hurricane Katrina, just as the city’s ability to handle them plummeted, creating a crisis so acute that police officers say they take some disturbed people to a destination of last resort — jail.
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Because of the storm damage, only two of New Orleans’ 11 hospitals are fully functioning. What’s more, one of the closed facilities is the sprawling Charity Hospital, which police officers had relied on to drop off people at any hour.

“You knew they were safe. You knew they would get the care they needed. You don’t know either of those things now,” said James Arey, a psychologist who commands the police crisis negotiation team.

People who need medication can’t find it or can’t afford it, and the storm’s aftermath has made life more stressful, as well, Arey said.

“Life is hard in this town now,” he said.

The Democrats have control of Congress again–well, at least the House of Reps for now. Here’s hoping that they regain control of the Senate and get the country back on the track of caring for its own neglected people at home.

[tags]Katrina, New Orleans, US, Senate, Congress, democrats, republicans, politics, society, disasters[/tags]