When more than 200 mental health advocates picketed the General Assembly Building recently, Delegate Jay W. DeBoer, co-chair of the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, said he heard the people’s cry for help.

"The state’s mental health system continues to be underfunded," he said. "The people’s needs have not been met, but the governor still wants to downsize facilities."

In response to threats of the properties’ sale by Gov. Gilmore in his State of the Commonwealth Address, most of the protesters demanded Eastern State Mental Hospital in Williamsburg be kept complete and functioning.

But the mental health issue is bigger than Eastern State, DeBoer said. He wants legislators to take a closer look at other facilities as well.

Central State Mental Hospital, in Dinwiddie County, should be considered for additional funding from the state, he said.

First, however, the surrounding counties and cities should pitch in by donating at least 10 percent of the hospital’s operating cost, which is required by the state, DeBoer said.

"The City of Petersburg has bent over backwards to accommodate the mentally disabled," he said, "but Colonial Heights has never done their share."

Central State patients are drawn from Richmond, Hopewell, Colonial Heights, Petersburg and surrounding counties, but many times these areas do not chip in as much as they should to the hospital’s operating costs, DeBoer said.

Because of inadequate funding by state, city and county governments, the aging facility has gone unrepaired and patient services have deteriorated, DeBoer said.

Money problems have forced Central State to turn away patients without extended insurance.

"We are emptying into our streets the most vulnerable and ill-prepared people," said Robin Winser, mental health services advocate.

Community service boards in Colonial Heights and Hopewell often turn to outpatient care, handled by their personnel, instead of recommending patients to the hospital.

"After the boom and busts budget cycle that mental health has had to endure, it is no wonder that community services to the mentally disabled have faltered," said Charles Boatright, Central State spokesperson.

Through local community service boards, mentally retarded persons participate in job training, rehabilitative and other activities and services. DeBoer said he would like to see additional funding for these programs as well.

"We need more money for community-based programs and mental health services," Winser said. "Mentally disabled need safe housing or independent living support. We cannot afford to wait any longer to come into the 21st century."

Along with mental health patients at Central State, drug and alcohol addicts also need hospitalization.

The Turning Point, a center for detoxification at Central State, takes in hundreds of these patients each year but many are turned away.

Because of the facility’s waiting list, many would-be patients return to the downward spiral of alcohol and drug abuse, DeBoer said.

John Gearheart, a recovering addict from Roanoke, spoke at the mental health rally of his experience overcoming his alcohol addiction.

"I was lucky because I got treatment when so many did not," he said. "My two brothers who were also addicts are now in jail. If they could have gotten into a detoxification center I know they would not be behind bars."

DeBoer said treatment for alcohol and drug abusers should be a primary concern for lawmakers.

"The state considers incarceration to be less expensive than providing ordinary care," he said.