There seems to be a growing category of People Just Generally Pissed Off Who Might DO Something Someday. This week, they did.
One of the big fires was intentionally set and therefore, might have been prevented.
How could it have been prevented? Better mental health care.
That would mean better mental health education (‘mental health floss’ I like to call it), better awareness, understanding, identification, early-intervention, and treatment, if needed.
It would mean understanding a person in context (which is a luxury few, if any, providers in any health-care establishment feel they have). It would mean enough paid professionals on staff to deal with people in the various places they present themselves (hospital, clinic, police department, school, and, location of last resort, post office).
Mental health is 50 years behind medical health. The stigma is real. Nurse Ratched is the poster child for psychiatric nursing to this day.
Taking care of people costs money. Sadly, we don’t seem to value either ourselves or our communities enough to do the right thing.
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Putting the emPHASIS on the wrong syLAble happens all the time. The good news today is that once in a while, a correction is made. Genarlow Wilson is out of jail.
West Coast Grrlie Blather 