EDINBURGH--Last week, as noted in the "journalist becomes the story" post earlier here, a somewhat prominent New Orleanian cracked under the pressure of the city's ongoing trauma and attempted suicide by cop. The city's precarious mental-health picture has been somewhat well-documented. So who came to town last week to hold only the second major post-K convention (the first being the librarians)? The American Psychological Association. And despite the fact that, as the AP reported,
"There's almost no psychiatric services in Orleans Parish now," (Police commander James) Arey said.,
the APA apparently left the town as depressed as it was when they arrived.
Last November, I had a diary entry here about a group of volunteer psychologists on rotating duty in NO to care for the children of first reponders who were living temporarily aboard a cruise ship. That ship has sailed...in more ways than one. There are almost no psychiatric services in Orleans Parish now because most of the mental health professionals in town have evacuated and not moved back. So where might the social conscience of this profession be right now? Where would the volunteers be who could fill this gap?
I know where some of them might be--in a big blue building on Hollywood Boulevard.