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I just read a Seattle Times op-ed article that pronounced, in blaring headlines, “Mental Health Safety Net Almost in Tatters” (Joe Guppy, Seattle Times, 9/27/99). I feel very bad for the psychotherapist who wrote the article. He works in a system that he has just pronounced nearly dead. He must be talking about a mental health system unlike ours. Our system is very much alive. This region knows its strengths—not its weaknesses—lie in its people. This region is made of communities driven by the unfailing belief that when committed to goals embedded deeply in our hearts, we cannot and will not fail. I believe that the same is true in the author’s community, if only he would look more carefully. I plan to personally invite him to visit our region. I want him to meet our leadership, our Board and staff, our colleagues in county offices, our consumers, families, elected officials, advocates, and our providers. I want him to see and feel first hand our vision, services, systems, accomplishments—our courage and heart. He would learn that we revel in the challenges. We expect no easy fixes, no convenient enemies to blame or banish, no clearly right or wrong questions or answers, no guaranteed timelines by which victory can be assured, and no individuals to be excluded from the public debate. In short we have one another. This is the mental health services system in which I live and work every day. So, to the author I say, leave the fight if you must, but don’t pronounce our work and dreams dead on your way out. In response to your article, we know violent acts are nothing new; the media and the public are aware that there is concern for the health of the community mental health system. But we also know that not all psychiatric consultations consist of one-question interviews. All therapists are not underpaid; all community mental health centers have not been rendered useless through budget cutbacks; all for-profit companies are not evil; all politicians and insurance companies are not corrupt; and more money in and of itself will not resolve all problems. We know that today’s collective efforts and dreams are only a beginning. We will not give up the belief that we are making a difference in the lives of those with mental illnesses. Finally, I would say to this author: Join us! We need you, and I believe that working shoulder to shoulder with us will renew your courage, restore your faith in your colleagues and in your fellow man. Then, I know you could write an op-ed piece that would encourage, inspire leadership, and bolster the trust that the community deserves to have in its Mental Health services.
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