We have a severe mental health crisis in New Orleans. We have a growing number of people with mental health needs while our mental health services are significantly lower since Katrina . The closure of the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital (NOAH), the only state run mental health facility in the New Orleans area, only exacerbates that problem.





Governor Jindal "line-item" vetoed that appropriation.

his plan is to send all mental health patients 60 miles away

Closing NOAH and having no mental health hospital services in New Orleans flies in the face of the entire reason NOAH was established in the first place

The non-sensical nature of NOAH's closing is even more disheartening because it wasn't about the money . Louisiana, just like many other parts of the country, is facing economic issues and we had to cut spending in places. In the legislature, we were able to allocate funding to keep NOAH open by still operating within our existing budget . As public spending was cut across the board 15% or so, we reduced NOAH by the same amount as other facilities. Yet, we kept it open to provide the vital resources it does.





What is sometimes lost in the discussion is that NOAH services low-income, medicaid patients, and it was established to treat adolescents, although adults were treated or evaluated there after Katrina because of lack of other facilities . These kids need to be close to their families, and the entire families need to be part of the counseling in order for the treatment to be productive. Most of these kids and families do not have the ability or the means to travel to 60 miles, across a long bridge . They can easily get to NOAH using public city transportation. Therefore, moving the services to the Northshore is like throwing all of the money away because the services need to be in New Orleans to be worthwhile . [...]





It is already being reported that our Parish Jail is now becoming the new mental health hospital . [By this, Rep. Abramson means that "those who should be in NOAH are doing things they shouldn't, and end up in jail instead."]



In the legislature, we funded NOAH to keep it open.Instead,, across a 24 mile bridge over Lake Ponchartrain, to receive critical mental health hospital services. [...]. And, there is more of a mental health need now than ever before. Quite simply, it makes absolutely no sense.