Senate Bill sb2740

    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                      SR 2740

    By Senator Hill





    1-1814-05

  1                    Senate Resolution No. ____

  2         A resolution regarding Florida's residents with

  3         mental illnesses.

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  5         WHEREAS, mental illnesses are no-fault

  6  biologically-based brain disorders, and are among the most

  7  commonly occurring illnesses in the United States and

  8  throughout the world, and

  9         WHEREAS, Floridians who suffer from mental illnesses

10  are subject to stigma, misunderstanding, and irrational fears

11  and prejudices from society at large, and

12         WHEREAS, only one-third of Florida's residents who have

13  mental illnesses receive treatment due to lack of resources,

14  lack of access, or other social barriers, and

15         WHEREAS, untreated mental illness increases a person's

16  risk of becoming homeless or incarcerated, and

17         WHEREAS, these circumstances have led to Florida's

18  jails becoming the state's largest category of institutions

19  housing people with mental illnesses, and

20         WHEREAS, Florida has a duty to its residents with

21  mental illnesses to do everything possible to alleviate their

22  suffering and protect their rights, and

23         WHEREAS, solutions to these challenges can be found if

24  the Senate plays a leadership role in forming community

25  coalitions to find the answers presented by those with mental

26  illnesses, including finding ways to improve access to

27  treatment and creating alternatives to needless incarceration,

28  NOW, THEREFORE,

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30  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                      SR 2740
    1-1814-05




 1         That the Florida Senate will lead efforts to seek new

 2  sources of funding, adopt the best practices for alternatives

 3  to incarceration, and promote increased access to care for

 4  Florida's residents with mental illnesses on a

 5  community-by-community basis.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.