Agenda - 10-14-1993 - C 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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021 Over the past 12 months, the Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Center conducted a county-wide survey which revealed that there are approximately 185 patients with severe mental illness in the County. The treatment center acknowledges that not all cases of severe mental illness are reported or diagnosed, and further estimate that there are three times as many mentally ill patients in the County; there are roughly 555 severe mentally ill patients that reside in Orange County. The majority of this population needs some form of housing. Some are capable of living on their own in a family or group home situation, while others require more specialized living conditions. The majority of the housing for the Developmentally/Physically Disabled is supplied by Residential Services. The Freedom House is the only facility for persons recovering from substance abuse in Orange County. The 12 bed facility serves approximately 75 women per year, and almost all need housing once they leave the treatment center. The majority of these women are very low-income. A survey conducted in 1989 by the AIDS Service Agency of Orange County of all AIDS/HIV service and education providers identified housing as the greatest unmet need of people living with AIDS and related diseases. The primary service goal of the AIDS Service Agency of Orange County is to provide housing and high quality supportive services to people living with AIDS. As of June 1, 1993, there are a reported 69 HIV infected Orange County residents, and there are an estimated 15, 000 - 20,000 HIV positive persons in the state that have not been diagnosed or are asymptomatic There is not an available racial breakdown of the cases, however, one can presume that the distribution is similar to the national averages of 59% minority and 41% caucasian. The only adequate emergency medical facility for persons with AIDS in Orange County is UNC Hospital. Persons living with AIDS and those infected with HIV are often discharged from medical facilities and sent to the IFC Shelter. Unfortunately, the shelter does not provide adequate housing for persons living with AIDS due to the time limit for the stay, the lack of services, and the possibility of HIV infected persons picking up diseases from other shelter residents. There are facilities in Durham and Wake Counties, but transportation to the facilities from the UNC Hospital is unavailable. Because UNC Hospital is one of only 25 experimental treatment centers in the nation, as many as 1,000 HIV positive people from all over the state and the region come to the State Hospital for treatment. Currently, the clinic is treating 750 patients; approximately 300 people require hospitalization for one to two weeks per year, the HIV Case Management Team at UNC Hospital estimates that at least 25% are in desperate need of supportive housing. If a housing facility was established for persons with AIDS, the Hospital estimates that it would refer 75 18