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As a former lawmaker and Assistant Public Defender, I became painfully aware of the link between mental health, crime, homelessness, and other social maladies that affect our community. Miami-Dade County has the highest per-capita ratio of mental illness than any other large county in the United States. This is unacceptable. As your Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 5, I will represent a district that contains the Veterans Administration Hospital, and Jackson Health System which both expend enormous resources on treating mental health patients. A County that effectively tackles this issue will be a safer County, a more economically prosperous County, a lower tax County and a more humane county.
The Diaz de la Portilla Mental Health Plan:
- Increase the capacity of NGOs in our community to service mental health needs;
- Decrease our dependence on jails for the provision of mental healthcare services;
- Urge private transportation providers who do business with the County, like Special Transportation Services, to transport mental health patients to ensure these patients receive their scheduled treatment;
- Increase the number of local businesses that provide insurance plans that treat mental illness the same as physical illness;
- Provide better coverage for County employees; and
- Reduce the time between diagnosis and treatment, so that we can reduce the burden placed on the families of the afflicted.
As your County Commissioner, the improvement of our mental health services will be a priority. As we implement our plan we will rely on the advice of mental health professionals, law enforcement, and policymakers such as former Mayor Alex Penelas, who championed many of these proposals during his Mayoral run.
