As a licensed mental health professional educated at the doctorate level, I do contract work for Attention Homes. I am writing about both the 1440 Pine St. housing project and the character and quality of the young people we serve. Our homeless youth are here. They’ve been here! They work in our convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, maintenance shops, etc. They pose no greater a risk to us than do other young people facing challenges in their lives; whether in the Whittier neighborhood or any other neighborhood.
In the Daily Camera article “Boulder board delays vote on 1440 Pine St. proposal after marathon public hearing,” the comment “These kids do have significant mental health and substance issues” made by Dr. Hittelman during the Planning Board meeting is grossly overstated. Most of the youth we serve are homeless through no fault of their own. Many come from dysfunctional family systems resulting in them either being told to, or choosing to, leave. And, the mental health issues they deal with, like depression, shame, a lack of self-esteem and self-worth often result from situational, life circumstance challenges directly related to their homelessness.Advertisement That is different from dealing with a major mental illness; this is a very important distinction to make!
Dr. Hittelman suggests that substance abuse issues are both more prevalent and egregious in the homeless youth population. Dr. Christopher Ringwalt, Jody Greene, and their colleagues at Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C., found that: “in planning interventions, we can’t consider runaways and homeless kids as a single, homogeneous population. As our data show, their rates of drug abuse vary widely depending on age, gender, ethnicity, and current living circumstances.”
Our statistics show that in the last year 81 homeless young people stayed in our shelter for more than a week. Eighteen individuals listed their mental health problem as a contributing factor to their homelessness and 32 identified substance abuse as a contributing factor; only two individuals were discharged due to a mental health or substance abuse related concern.
As a poor choice of a coping mechanism, some of our homeless young people do become involved in drug and alcohol abuse. However there is a distinct difference between abuse and dependency. Again, this is another very important distinction! With our harm reduction treatment approach to drug abuse, we establish rapport with our young people, keep them engaged, and support them over time. Time strengthens that rapport which leads to trust, and trust leads to our ability to help facilitate behavioral change.
At Attention Homes we do provide a broad spectrum of mental health counseling services to include crisis intervention, mental health and substance abuse and dependency assessments, individual and group counseling sessions, family counseling, employment counseling, case management and our innovative equine therapy program. When appropriate, we make referrals to mental health and/or substance abuse treatment programs as part of a seamless continuum of care. These diverse mental health services will remain available to the residents of the 1440 Pine St. housing project.
Lastly, the Pine Street housing facility will be staffed by well-trained, well-qualified, direct-care staff, clinical personnel and seasoned administrators. Residents will be held accountable to facility rules and the premises will be closely monitored for safety purposes.
We cannot evolve as a society unless we can get beyond our fears, irrational beliefs and mistrust. Our community is strength-based and together we can meet our moral obligations to each other and to our homeless. Let this project be our collective new beginning!
G. Thomas Manzione lives in Pinecliff.
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