To the editor:

Half of all mental illnesses begin to be exhibited by the age of 14, and every citizen benefits when Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center extends outreach to children and adolescents. Safety in our society increases when mental illness is addressed.

Bert Nash has for many years requested space within our city’s schools to place master’s level clinicians, part of a program called WRAP. The schools, the city and the county have chipped in with Bert Nash to pay for these clinicians to identify mental illness at an early stage, treat it, educate the patient and family members, and manage chronic illness.

This year, elementary-aged students will lack mental health outreach, due to the city commissioners backing out of the partnership in 2007. The city commissioners do have an opportunity at this moment to fix WRAP funding by including it in the 2009 city budget. Parents across Lawrence have written to and spoken to city commissioners to hammer home the cost-effectiveness of the WRAP program and point out the many value-added components inherent in the program. But the July 3 draft of the new city budget omits funding for the Bert Nash WRAP program.

It is very important to restore the mental health team that cares for all our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Please urge your city commissioners to partner to support the Bert Nash WRAP program.

Nora Murphy,

Lawrence