A mental health pilot project took a first step forward yesterday. The project is the idea of Davidson County General Sessions Judge Dan Eisenstein, who also oversees Nashville’s mental health court.
Eisenstein says he saw a need for a clearinghouse for those with mental illnesses without insurance. The program would allow individuals to be assessed, stabilized with medications and then sent to an appropriate treatment facility. Eisenstein says hopefully this approach will keep those with severe mental illnesses from deteriorating to the point where they have to enter his court room.
“So this is not a treatment program at all, it’s just to keep people from falling through the cracks and decompensating when they haven’t been seen by someone and they don’t have any medication.”
Eisenstein acknowledged that long-term funding for individuals, once they start seeing a mental health provider, remains an issue. The House Mental Health Subcommittee passed the bill that will create the project with an amendment to conduct the pilot in all three grand divisions of the state in Shelby County, the Tri-Cities area and Nashville.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM