Wednesday, February 8th – 6:30pm in Three Locations
As the issue of proposed cuts to mental health services is being debated, SEIU 509, along with Stephanie’s Family and Friends, MassCOSH, and the NASW, is holding a series of vigils across the state to honor the life of Stephanie Moulton, a human service worker who lost her life while providing care last January.
The vigil marks Stephanie’s birthday and the one year anniversary of her death. Kim Flynn (Stephanie’s mother), family members and friends, human service workers, and peer advocates will call on the State to adopt statewide safety protocols.
Locations: (map below)
- Peabody – Buckley Field, 79 Central St
- New Bedford – Dept of Mental Health offices, 888 Purchase St –Previously listed as 800 Purchase St, the office has moved
- Springfield – City Hall Plaza, 36 Court St – The Springfield vigil will be held at 5:30pm
The killing [of Stephanie Moulton by her patient/client] on Jan. 20 [2011] stunned the mental health care community in Massachusetts. The “shattering event,” as one former state mental health official called it, occurred days before Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, released his proposed budget, which would slash mental health spending for the third year in a row. And it raised the timely but uncomfortable question of whether such continuous belt-tightening had played a role in Ms. Moulton’s death.
Many people wondered aloud whether the system had failed both the suspect and the victim. How had Ms. Moulton ended up alone in a home with a psychotic man who had a history of violence and was off his medication? How had Mr. Chappell been allowed to deteriorate without setting off alarms? Should he have still been living in a group home, or did he need the tighter supervision of a hospital? The isue takes on added significance given the Governor’s plan to close Taunton State Hospital, while failing to provide appropriate community supports and services
For more on this follow the link to the New York Times story below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/us/17MENTAL.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
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