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1. Grob tells us: “Whatever its contradictory and tangled origins, deinstitutionalization had positive consequences for a large part of the nation’s severely and persistently mentally ill population.” (292) Is America still doing a good job with deinstitutionalization? Why are there an estimated 78,000 people living on the streets of NYC? (Statista.com – April 2021) This article addresses the relationship between homelessness and mental illness:
2. The 20th century developments reading mentions Alcoholics Anonymous as the “quintessential” self-help group. (373) Statistics show AA has a fairly high success rate.* Why do you think this program works?
3. Summers chapter nine does a terrific job of explaining the awful racism regarding the African American psyche and how this affected the treatment of those who were mentally ill. One key factor was social class and Summers illustrates this when he mentions the absence of mental health clinics in black neighborhoods. (273) How much has really changed? Do the inner-city poor get access to the same mental health care available to Fredericksburg’s gentry?
Submitted by Bonnie Akkerman I pledge…