End of an era—Goebel Lawsuit
by Carl Clark, MD, CEO MHCD

In 1981, Ruth Goebel was an obscure 47-year-old homeless Denver woman suffering from serious mental illness. She, like hundreds of thousands of others in similar circumstances, was literally abandoned by fractured mental health and social service systems reeling from massive federal, state and local budget reductions. Ruth Goebel was a daughter; she was a sister, and she was a human being who deserved to live in dignity just as we all do.

That same year, on behalf of eight people just like Ruth Goebel, and an additional 1600 others, Kathleen Mullen, chief counsel for Denver 's Legal Aid Society, filed a class action lawsuit against the state of Colorado and Denver County for failure to provide housing and mental health services for its neediest citizens.

In 1983, in the early days of the lawsuit, Ruth Goebel, suffering from congestive heart failure, numerous other physical problems and schizophrenia, froze to death in a downtown Denver alley. Ms. Mullen's legal action memorialized Ms. Goebel by taking on her name.

On March 31, 2006, almost 23 years after Ms. Goebel died and 25 years after the lawsuit was filed, Denver district judge Morris Hoffman ended two and a half decades of court monitored oversight of a service delivery system designed to serve the needs of this vulnerable group of our Denver neighbors. Judge Hoffman dismissed the suit because the services that it spawned have and continue to be successful. The state, through its contract with the Mental Health Center of Denver, met the final settlement conditions imposed by the court in 2003.

The tedious and lengthy intricacies of the legal proceedings, the claims and counter claims and the volumes of paperwork that speak to the Ruth Goebel case do not tell the whole story. The reality of state revenue reductions, the scarcity of resources, and weak advocacy for those whom society ignores, further cloud the issue. The most important chapter in the long saga of the Goebel case is that there are treatments and services that work—people like Ruth Goebel do not have to die.

Since 1994, when the state contracted with MHCD to meet its settlement obligations, hundreds of highly qualified doctors, nurses, psychologists, case managers, therapists, social workers, vocational counselors, residential counselors and support staff have designed, developed and implemented effective programs serving seriously mentally ill people.

At MHCD, we take one mentally ill homeless person off the street every single day. We have developed partnerships with dozens of public and private organizations to provide housing, access to healthcare, food, clothing and social networks. At the same time, the MHCD teams provide effective mental health treatment and help people recover. We provide vocational counseling and opportunities so that people can re-enter the work force. We help reunite families; linking parents and brothers and sisters and children.

 
 

While we celebrate the end of the Goebel lawsuit, we do so with mixed emotions. For 12 years, the State of Colorado has entrusted MHCD to meet the court settlement obligations and we have been successful. Our work has been emulated across the United States . We know that with appropriate treatment and services, people with serious mental illness can live productive and dignified lives. We know that the cost to the public for treatment is far less than the dollars otherwise spent for hospitalization, ER visits and incarceration. We serve everyone we can but there are thousands more people in Denver who need our help than we can serve . We welcome the day when our expertise can be extended to all those who need service. However, we also know that without ongoing and adequate funding, indeed without additional funding, there will be others like Ruth Goebel.

The Ruth Goebel story did not end on March 31, 2006. Indeed, we hope that date marks the beginning of a new chapter-- a time when policy makers, advocates, the Colorado Division of Mental Health, the MHCD team of mental health care providers, and compassionate citizens launch a new era in Denver 's commitment to improving the lives of everyone who chooses to live here.