CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Families of dozens of mentally ill residents in the Charlotte area are worried their loved ones may be forced out of the facilities in which they live.
They said the residents may become homeless and possibly dangerous.
The federal government may start enforcing an old law that states if more than half of the people living at assisted living facilities -- those with more than 16 people -- have a primary diagnosis of mental illness, then the facility would be classified as an institute for mental disease and Medicaid would no longer pay for many of their services.
Pam Pace's brother John lives at Crown Colony, an assisted living facility in Mooresville. She said she is worried.
About 90 percent of the residents there have a mental illness.
"I'm totally panic-stricken," she said. "What am I going to do?"
John is a paranoid schizophrenic and Pace cannot care for him on her own.
She and others are worried because they say there are not enough facilities in the area for the mentally ill.
"If he's released, his options are nil at this point," she said.
Pace said her brother could end up homeless or in jail. If he does not have his medication, he could become delusional and even dangerous.
Amy Hart, the owner of Crown Colony, teared up when she told Eyewitness News about her concern for residents who may be forced out.
"We've even tried to get people on waiting lists for group homes and stuff because we were scared of what might happen," she said.
Hart and other administrators were told the federal government set Thursday as the deadline for officials to assess the situation in North Carolina, but they have not heard much more.
Eyewitness News contacted the Department of Health and Human Services to get answers but did not hear Tuesday.
The law would apply to 38 facilities across North Carolina, including three in the immediate Charlotte area. In all they house more than 1,000 people.
WSOC
