NAMI Far North advocates for the mentally ill

SANDPOINT — For mental health advocates in Idaho, the dark ages were not that long ago. At the turn of the 20th Century, people with any number of brain-related disorders were simply shuttled off and hidden from view. Or, to use the common vernacular of the time — put away.

Even as recently as the World War II era, institutionalization was the norm. At the state hospital in Orofino, there were 400 beds in the 1940s, with more than 600 patients crammed into the facility to share them. Once you entered those doors, chances were very slim you would ever walk back out again.

“Today, it’s a rebuilt, modern facility with 50-60 beds and the average stay is 30-60 days,” said Gini Woodward, vice president for NAMI Far North, the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

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