Letter: Is mental health a laughing matter?

If you're in danger of having a heart attack, do you call your accountant? When your child has suicide ideation or a bi-polar diagnosis, do you call your plumber? Of course not. You'd call a professional.

It's so ludicrous that it's laughable. But that's exactly what the Wheeling Township Board would have us do when we or our family members need behavioral health care. In order to develop a strategy for serving our residents with the best treatment for mental health, addiction or intellectual or developmental disabilities, the Wheeling Township's new Mental Health Board members must have expertise in behavioral health. More than 14 qualified individuals applied; only two were interviewed; one was appointed.

The appointment process was behind closed doors and it is clear that the remaining appointees are politically connected. Some are highly qualified in other fields.

Why is this a serious issue? For example, one in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year. One in six U.S. youth aged 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder each year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youths aged 10 to 14.

There are more than 150,000 residents in Wheeling Township, including almost half of Mount Prospect's residents, as well as residents of Wheeling, Buffalo Grove and Arlington Heights. Board appointees SHOULD have behavioral health qualifications in order to evaluate treatment and service providers, as well as to navigate an incohesive health care infrastructure. That's what Vernon Township and other Townships have done.

Terri Gens, Village Trustee

Mount Prospect