http://ncmentalhope.org North Carolina Mental Hope Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:18:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The world seemed to come crashing down on June 20, 1993, for then-36-year-old “Bart” of Queens, N.Y. Before that day, he had college degrees from Dartmouth and Harvard, and was earning $135,000 a year in business. His wife was a New York psychologist. But afterward? “That day, I was talking on the ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/08/ivy-league-graduate-fights-bipolar-disorder-sun-journal/ In my last blog post, "Mental Illness at the Movies," I discussed Charles Darwin's hallucinations in the film, Creation, and concluded that "the psychotic strand may in the end be an advantageous trait." Several days later, in a piece in the New York Times Magazine, titled "Depression's Upside ," Jonah ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/08/robert-david-jaffee-mental-illness-in-the-papers/ Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health have determined that mandatory outpatient treatment for New Yorkers with severe mental illness leads to a drop in violent criminal behaviour. The study was published in the journal Psychiatric Services. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/08/outpatient-care-for-individuals-with-severe-mental-illnesses-reduces-crime-news/ ''I think Michael was distraught because he was conflicted over his sexuality and didn't believe he could ever come out as a gay man to his religious Mormon family.'' Quote appearing in the National Enquirer under a headline that reads, "Marie Osmond Suicidal after Gay Son Leaps 8 Floors to His ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/08/osmonds-and-mormon-beliefs-about-gays-under-spotlight-following-suicide-of-maries-son-last-word/ Mar. 6--A husband and wife attacked in Wilson Medical Center's emergency room Feb. 18 believe more security guards should be on duty, and at least one should be assigned to the emergency room at all times. Catherine Murphy, 54, of Wilson and her 64-year-old husband, Bobby, were among four people allegedly ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/07/victims-question-er-security-wilson/ Mar. 6The N.C. Division of Health Service Regulators (DHSR) found a second incident during its three-day investigation at Wilson Medical Center that could also jeopardize the hospital's Medicare funding. Investigators recommended the hospital be placed in "immediate jeopardy" to lose its Medicare certification, according to information released by the hospital Friday. Immediate ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/07/second-hospital-injury-case-found-the-wilson-daily-times-n-c-march-7-2010/ Craven County resident Phyllis Jones was adopted as a girl, and the question sometimes ran through her head, “What was wrong with me that my parents didn’t want me?” she said. So when a friend, who was also a Craven County Department of Social Services employee, asked her 10 years ago ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/07/fostering-love-ran-head-adopted-local-new-bern-sun-journal/ The next five months sit in front of Amanda Christian like a boulder. Days don't budge, and nights have stopped altogether. Five months is what separates Christian from her husband, Matt, a Fort Bragg medic who is scheduled to return in August from a 12-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.Story continues here ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/07/fayobserver-com-wives-of-deployed-soldiers-are-more-depressed-says-study/ Derrick Adams died in an abandoned house in Fayetteville sometime before Christmas. He had been dead at least several days - maybe even weeks - before his body was found Christmas Eve. No one ever reported him missing.Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/07/fayobserver-com-homeless-people-a-forgotten-part-of-community/ In early April of 2004, two men on a mission showed up at a mental health center in Raeford. They wanted to get help for a third man they brought with them, Abdullah El-Amin Shareef. Shareef's family believed he had started a fire that led to his mother's death and destroyed ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/07/fayobserver-com-trial-shines-spotlight-on-mental-health-field/ Cary, NC – Last week, the Cary PBA held its annual awards dinner. Chapter President Randy Byrd has kindly forwarded the stories of five officers who were nominated for the George Almond “Officer of the Year” award. They provide a fascinating look at policing in Cary. The week, we have ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/06/cary-police-stories-robert-tonietto-carycitizen/ As Mecklenburg County commissioners try to combat a $70.7 million shortfall this fiscal year and at least a $15 million shortfall next year, the board learned March 2 money for healthcare services will also likely increase. The problem, budget director Hyong Yi told the board, is that demand for services –  ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/06/county-healthcare-costs-climbing-carolina-weekly-newspapers/ Democrats continued to lash out at Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr on Thursday for voting against extending unemployment benefits to 200,000 people, including 6,500 North Carolinians. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/06/burrs-vote-on-jobless-draws-fire-charlotteobserver-com/ Video Report. A friend of Abdullah Shareef's father testified that he tried unsuccessfully to get inpatient medical treatment for Shareef shortly before an April 2004 hit-and-run rampage that killed one and injured four. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/wral-com-friend-couldnt-get-mental-health-help-for-suspect/ Wilson Medical's Medicare funding jeopardized Alleged attacker diagosed with bipolar disorder. Wilson Medical Hospital could lose its Medicare certification by March 27 if it doesn't implement a plan of action in response to a violent episode in the emergency room on Feb. 18. State investigators have been at the hospital since Tuesday looking ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/er-attack-investigated-wilson-times/ RALEIGH -- A debate is under way in North Carolina over health insurance coverage for children with autism, and the issue turns on whether the therapy is considered educational or medical. The argument, presented Thursday in a legislative study commission, is at the heart of a proposed bill that would require ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/autism-insurance-is-debated-newsobserver-com/ MORGANTON - After the jury returned a mixture of verdicts regarding four criminal charges against her, Joyce Smith Nelson said she was sorry for injuring Burke County SWAT team member and investigator Martin Lawing. "Yes, I do wish it had never happened," Nelson said. She said she hopes the court's sentence ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/nelson-verdict-mixed-morganton-news-herald/ GREENSBORO — A suicidal suspect was shot by up to five police officers after raising a handgun at authorities following a three-hour standoff this morning, police Chief Tim Bellamy said. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/update-man-threatening-suicide-shot-by-police-in-greensboro-news-record-com/ Even as Gastonia Police told Lorri Moss everyone else had given up on finding her boyfriend alive, she said she never lost her faith.  (See related story) But almost three months to the day after she had reported Keith Raymond “Poindexter” Whitworth missing, Moss received news Wednesday that she had hoped never ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/three-months-of-not-knowing-has-unhappy-ending-police-whitworth-moss-local-news-gaston-gazette/ Prosecutors in the Abdullah El-Amin Shareef capital murder trial on Thursday tried to present a courtroom image of a sane man with demons: the product of a violence-filled childhood and an intensifying drug addiction. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/05/fayobserver-com-shareefs-sister-recalls-violent-incident-with-parents/ Video Report: CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On a bitterly cold night in January, James Sims would meet his destiny. "I see a fire truck going with its lights and my first thought is, 'This can't be good,'" said Brian Sims, James' brother. James Sims, 48, grew up in Union County in a family of ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/04/homeless-man-dies-in-cold-after-police-release-him-tv-36-charlottecharlotte-news-weather-traffic-sports-wcnc-com-on-tv/ ASHEVILLE — Desiree Roberts and her colleagues spent this week telling dozens of mentally ill patients in Madison County they would have to find another place to get care. Patton Counseling notified its 17 employees on Monday that they would be furloughed on Tuesday, essentially suspending services for hundreds of clients ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/04/mental-health-provider-halts-area-services-in-madison-buncombe-counties-asheville-citizen-times/ The wife of Abdullah El-Amin Shareef, occasionally breaking down and weeping, testified Wednesday in his capital murder trial that she saw a dramatic change in his behavior as early as August 2002. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/04/fayobserver-com-wife-of-shareef-testifies-about-how-he-changed/ Myrna Miller Wellons, 40, a North Carolina women's rights and social welfare champion, died Monday from a catastrophic stroke. At her death, she was president-elect of the Board for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), North Carolina Chapter, vice-chair of the state's Diabetes Advisory Council, and a board member of ... http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/04/myrna-miller-wellons-obits-newsobserver-com/ The final person to plead guilty in the separate murders of a mentally disabled Harrells man and a Duplin County cab driver in 2007 has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Story continues here ➤ http://ncmentalhope.org/http:/www.ncmentalhope.org/2010/03/04/the-sampson-independent-guilty-plea-lands-woman-in-jail-for-7-plus-years/