Mabel Barrett Palmer

Mabel Barrett Palmer, a social worker noted for her leadership in rehabilitation of the mentally ill, died June 14 at Poydras Home in New Orleans. She was 92. Born in Louisville, Miss., and raised in Noxapater, Miss., she had lived in New Orleans since 1951. She earned her BA at Blue Mountain College, Miss., and a master's degree in social work at Tulane. Ms. Palmer was best known for her work with the Mental Health Association in Louisiana and was a master at marshaling volunteers for her causes. From 1959, she served as director of Special Services and associate director of MHAL. In 1968, she became the first woman executive director of MHAL, a post she held until retirement in 1984. She established the Magnolia Clubs for patients newly discharged from mental hospitals, and her guidelines for the clubs were adopted by the National Mental Health Association. She helped develop McKinney House, the first halfway house in Louisiana which, like the Magnolia Clubs, served as a bridge for mental patients re-entering society. Ms. Palmer became the first woman president of the national Staff Council for mental health association staff In 1967. In 1972 she spoke at a World Mental Health Association conference in Helsinki, Finland, and was one of 30 selected to tour mental health facilities in China after the Cultural Revolution. A supporter of the rights of the mentally ill, Ms. Palmer pushed for passage of the Mental Health Law of Louisiana in 1976. She received the Robert Lancaster Award as Outstanding Mental Health Professional in New Orleans in 1984. In retirement, she served on the boards of Poydras Home, the Southern Baptist Hospital League and Raintree Services, and was a deacon at St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church. She is survived by loving cousins, nephews, nieces and friends. A memorial service will be held Thursday, June 21, 11 a.m. at St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church, 7100 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 A.M. at Noxapater Baptist Church, with Rev. Trent Bilbo officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Noxapater. Memorials to St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church or to Poydras Home. Special thanks for their care go to Poydras Home and Hospice Compassus.