Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor is pushing for an assessment of available resources in Leon County to address mental health and substance abuse. The move comes after Proctor’s son was arrested this past weekend on drug charges.
Commissioner Proctor says his son’s recent arrest is a catalyst for him to speak about mental health.
“I am so tired. I’m out of money. I’m tired. So hell, I think it needs to have an exposure, and sometimes exposure brings a healing not for me, but for other families, on what to do.”
Jordan Proctor is facing three felony drug charges. He was arrested in 2014 for robbing a Pizza Hut delivery driver at gunpoint, and has a mental health hearing set for later this month in that case. Commissioner Proctor says he believes there should be more services to help people with mental health before they end up in the criminal system. And he plans to host a community conversation on emotional disorders and drug abuse on April 20th at the North Florida Fairgrounds.
Proctor wants the county to conduct an assessment of mental health and substance abuse resources. And he’d like to see a facility with residential beds where people struggling with mental health issues can stay for longer periods of time without having first interacted with law enforcement. Right now, both Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and the Apalachee Center offer mental health services, but those are usually reserved for people who have been involuntarily committed.
