Settlement Over Housing For Mental Health

State officials have reached a settlement with the federal government to avoid litigation and provide people with serious mental illness more housing choices.

Jeff Tiberii: The US Attorney's office had threatened a lawsuit last year because they said thousands of North Carolinians with mental illness were segregated from society in adult care homes.  On Thursday the state agreed to spend 287 million dollars by the year 20-20 and create 3-thousand housing units for people with serious mental illness. Chrissy Pearson is with the Department of Heath and Human Services. She says the state will also help people with job coaching, and training.

Chrissy Pearson: The main goal of this particular program is to more full integrate people with mental illness into their communities, to allow them to participate in community life more.

The General Assembly allocated 10 million dollars in this year's budget for additional housing and job assistance.Pearson says the state will work with officials in all 100 counties.