WHAT
WOULD DOROTHEA DO?
In 2004 the NC Legislature
voted to close Dorothea Dix Hospital. Consequently the future of the Dorothea Dix campus
is being debated. Various government officials from the State and the City, along
with private individuals, interested groups, and commissioned groups, have been
discussing what should happen to the Dorothea Dix property - a 306 acre
property just south of Boylan Heights currently housing a State psychiatric hospital and
various DHHS buildings.
Dorothea Dix (1802- 1887) was an advocate who went into prisons and
jails throughout the US and ministered to the mentally ill. She lobbied for construction of mental
hospitals and humane treatment of the mentally ill. Prior to her involvement,
Dorothea Dix found that the mentally ill were not treated as sick, but instead
as criminals. She befriended and nursed the dying wife of James C. Dobbin, a
N.C. legislator who helped pass legislation to build what is now Dorothea Dix Hospital. For more information, go here.
Much of the original Dix
property was given to North Carolina State University by Governor James B. Hunt to create what is now
Centennial Campus.
Recently the NC legislature
asked Urban Land Institute (ULI) to talk with interested parties and make a
recommendation of how to best use the Dix property. ULI has recommended that
the City of Raleigh buy the Dix property from the State. The City Council
will be considering ULI’s recommendation at their
meeting on November 21st. For more information on this you may go to
the City’s Web site. There is also a 2 hour videotape that you can watch
on RTN (Raleigh Television Network) on the following dates: Tuesday, Nov. 21 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 23 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 26 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Boylan Heights Association voted at its March 2005 meeting to
become a member of The Friends of Dorothea Dix Park - a coalition of
organizations who are fighting to preserve the Dix property as a park. To read
their plan, go here.
Once you’ve checked out these
Web sites and learned more about Dorothea Dix and the proposals, consider what
would Dorothea do and what is best for Raleigh, Boylan Heights, and North Carolina. Contact the Mayor and our City Counselors: Thomas
Crowder, District D, and Joyce Kekas and Russ
Stephenson, At Large, and let them know what you think.
Charles Meeker Charles.Meeker@ci.raleigh.nc.us
Thomas Crowder Thomas.Crowder@ci.raleigh.nc.us
Joyce Kekas Joyce.Kekas@ci.raleigh.nc.us
Russ Stephenson Russ.Stephenson@ci.raleigh.nc.us
