Board of Supervisors to cut Mental Health Services - Help (Santa Barbara County)
Reply to: rogert.chess@gmail.com
Date: 2008-04-15, 4:28PM PDT
There is an issue looming in Santa Barbara County which affects the lives of thousands of individuals. Before last week, I had never signed a petition. I had never stood with the mayor, city council members, chamber of commerce members before cameras and made my position known. I had never attended a rally. I had never spoke before politicians and pleaded for a cause. But all that changed when I learned the Board of Supervisors will most likely make Santa Barbara County the worst funded county in California for mental health services; when I realized the Board of Supervisors could leave nearly 1,000 people without treatment and hundreds without a home. These are people who, for the most part, can’t advocate for themselves. I’m one of those thousand but I can and will advocate on my behalf and on the behalf of those who can’t. I’m asking for your help – for 60 seconds of your time to sign an online petition opposing these cuts. You don’t need to live in Santa Barbara or even California to participate. This petition is the only remaining option we have to persuade the Board of Supervisors to reconsider. Visit http://www.savementalhealth.org to learn the details of the issue and sign the petition. If you’d prefer to bypass the details and go directly to the petition, visit http://www.petitiononline.com/poppy58/petition.html. If you haven’t signed yet, let me give you more details.
In 2003, I graduated from UC Santa Barbara at the top in my class and Phi Beta Kappa. I moved to Carmel, California, with my wife. I purchased a home and started a company. A few years later, with life unfolding in a spectacular and promising way, I faced the onset of Bipolar Disorder. I lost my wife, my home, my company, and my dignity. I returned to Santa Barbara and the very services that the Board of Supervisors intend to cut are the same services that saved my life and put me on the path to recovery. Who, I wonder, is the next Roger? The Roger that hasn’t yet arrived or isn’t yet afflicted? What is his fate? For that matter, what is the fate of all those who have yet to need the services that might not exist? While that is an important question, the most pressing concern is the fate of those already using and needing the services that might not exist. How will 800 to 1,000 severely mentally ill individuals manage? All I am asking is that you sign a petition which will be symbolically presented to the Board of Supervisors on April 22nd. Again, the direct link is http://www.petitiononline.com/poppy58/petition.html.
Still haven’t signed? I hate petitions as well. But the reality is that the demographic this is affecting is mostly too disabled to even understand the implications of this budget cut. Some paranoid schizophrenics won’t sign even though it affects them directly because, well, they’re paranoid. That leaves it up to me and to you and to those you know. If you don’t sign and you have a reason, please, share it. Let me know. My e-mail address is rogert.chess@gmail.com. I want to hear why you won’t sign a petition that takes 60 seconds to complete and is in the interests of those who mostly can’t defend themselves. Even if you sign the petition, it might not be enough. That’s why I’m attending news conferences, rallies, and board meetings. But I need your help as well. At the risk of sounding too repetitive, visit http://www.petitiononline.com/poppy58/petition.html and sign the petition. Perhaps you’re thinking that your single signature won’t make any difference – but it takes many, many single signatures to make that difference.
Thank you for your time and attention. Please sign the petition and forward this posting to everyone you know! We only have a week!
Sincerely,
Roger Thompson
- Location: Santa Barbara County
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
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