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Human Services Advisory Commission Forum - September 13, 2000 <br />Mental Health - It Affects All Ages <br />The Friday Center <br />Chapel Hill, NC <br />♦ Respite care for the care - givers <br />♦ Availability of resources that are not "means tested" (need for Universal Coverage) <br />♦ Fragmentation of services in County Senior Centers, i.e., need to use an interdisciplinary wellness <br />model <br />♦ Inequality of Orange County Services in the different regions of the County (i.e., Northern Orange v <br />Chapel Hill) <br />All the Issues the Group Presented in Session <br />♦ Inequality of services in the various parts of Orange County (i.e., Northern Orange County v Chapel <br />Hill) <br />♦ Need for increase in appropriate housing sources with case management <br />♦ Education of family members about dementia in their loved one <br />♦ Availability of resources that are not "means- tested" (Need for "Universal Coverage ") <br />♦ Correction of the impression that mental illness or depression is a normal part of aging (educating the <br />public that depression is pathological and treatable) <br />♦ Increase in specialty providers <br />♦ Enabling access to services <br />♦ Availability and equal distribution and resourcing of Senior Citizens' Centers County -wide <br />♦ Consolidation of Services <br />♦ Continuing education for county personnel regarding mental health in the elderly <br />♦ Affordable prescription drugs <br />♦ Transportation <br />♦ Continuum of services (support for family members) <br />♦ High staff turnover <br />♦ Public knowledge of resources <br />♦ Provision of daily contact for people in danger of isolation (Meals on Wheels model) <br />♦ Employee incentives <br />♦ Prevention of isolation (Community Watch model) <br />♦ Sufficient and accessible mental health services <br />♦ Negative impact on ADL and IADL when mental illness is not treated properly <br />♦ Culturally- appropriate services <br />♦ Under - diagnoses of dementia <br />♦ Stigma associated with applying for mental health services <br />♦ Outreach to the more rural parts of the County <br />♦ Fragmentation of services in County Senior Centers (need to use an interdisciplinary wellness model) <br />♦ Over - medication <br />♦ Availability of Spanish- speaking services <br />♦ Lack of incentives for providing in -home care <br />♦ Respite care for the care giver <br />♦ Employment and volunteer opportunities <br />Page 5of5 <br />