After son's death, Virginia official vows to help change state's mental health system

Nov 27 2013

Former gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, who was stabbed repeatedly by his son before the young man took his own life, says, "I am alive for a reason and I will work for change."

Politico: Creigh Deeds: 'I Am Alive For A Reason'
Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds says he's "alive for a reason" in his first comments to the media following an altercation at his residence last week where he suffered multiple stab wounds to the head and torso and his son killed himself with a rifle. "I am alive for a reason, and I will work for change. I owe that to my precious son," Deeds said in an interview with a Virginia newspaper, The Recorder, published online Monday (McCalmont, 11/25).

The Washington Post: Report: Deeds Expresses Anger At State Agency That Failed Son, Vows Fight For Change
Virginia state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who is recuperating at home after his son attacked him with a knife before taking his own life last week, blamed a local mental-health agency for the tragedy in an interview with a Bath County newspaper Monday. Deeds told the Recorder newspaper that the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board, which administers mental-health and substance-abuse services, is "responsible" for Austin Deeds's death. The senator, who was the 2009 Democratic nominee for governor, said it was too soon to talk in detail about his son's death but vowed to help other families in crisis receive the help they need, the Recorder reported (Kunkle, 11/25).

And in Georgia, mental health advocates are concerned about the possible loss of a program.

Georgia Health News: Funding Cuts Put Mental Health Program At Risk
Devastating. Catastrophic. A disaster. That's how patient advocates and providers describe the effects of the possible loss of Grady Health System's mental health program. The mental health program, nevertheless, could be on the chopping block as the Atlanta safety net provider confronts nearly $100 million in funding cuts (Miller, 11/25).