NCLM Southern City Volume 71, Issue 2, 2021

NCLM.ORG 19 that was probably a mistake. I’ve been to all three of our mental health hospitals (operated by the state Department of Health and Human Services) and a ton of other mental health facilities just visiting. I’ve been to Central Prison, I’ve been on death row to see. I’m one of those, I want to go, I want to see, I want to talk to peo- ple. Everywhere I go, I ask questions—what would you change? What do we need to do? The three mental health hospitals are the only hospitals in North Carolina that do not have electronic medical records. They carry around paper files. I think the mental health hospitals are important. I think they should be up there with every other hospital. Great service, great medical care—have the best of the best there. We’re paying for it. It costs about $1,400 a day to house somebody in one of our mental health hospitals. That’s a passion of mine, so we’ve got it in the budget. That’s a big thing. Another bill I have is long-term injectables, for both mental health and opioid treatment. All of the studies I’ve read say that one of the big issues on mental health, is people get stable on whatever medication they’re taking, and then they’re discharged, and then they go out and they say, “I’m fine” and quit taking it, or the other complaint is that they said, “I’m foggy, I don’t feel like myself” and they quit taking them. What I want to do is put them on long-term injectables, where only once a month they have to get an injection and it keeps them stable, where they can work, they can stay with their family, they can function. Same thing about opioid treatment. This thing about putting somebody in a seven-day plan—it doesn’t work. I’ve talked to folks all over the state and other states. I’ve read all these studies. If you’re going to get somebody off of drugs, there needs to be a long- term solution. Part of it is, I think, injectables. Another thing I’m really concerned about—you cannot treat somebody if they’re not in a safe environment. So, housing has to be one of the first components. It’s hard to treat a homeless person. It’s hard to treat somebody, even if they’re trying to make it, when they’re skipping around from place to place. So, I think housing ought to be one of our priorities. [...] We need to have safe, adequate housing for these folks. Then we start a treatment plan, long-term. All of us have our mental health moments, and we need to have a better plan for how we deal with it and we have to be willing to try to help people. It seems like your goal is happier people, more confident people, set up for success, as data-backed solutions are changing the dy- namics. It all makes for a happier place. JB : People will tell you I’m a numbers guy. I’m always asking peo- ple for data. I just believe that the numbers show you what you need to do. Whether your spending is accurate. I’m the kind of guy, I’ll invest in things that I think are going to make a difference. If there’s a tool I can buy to make it better. By the Numbers: Legislator Q&A People will tell you I’m a numbers guy . I’m always asking people for data. I just believe that the numbers show you what you need to do. Whether your spending is accurate. I’m the kind of guy, I’ll invest in things that I think are going to make a difference . » Jim Burgin , North Carolina State Senator