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From:Helene Mayer To:selectmen"s Subject:"What is the role of Municipal and School Departments and the community in providing mental health services to the Lexington community?" Date:Friday, June 1, 2018 2:01:09 PM Hi. I was unable to attend the meeting but read the article in the Minuteman. I have a lot to say, so bear with me. It's been more than a year since Ilana's suicide. I've been advocating for change in the system since the day she died. As a therapist with a rather extensive experience in crisis work (including 2 1/2 years on the Crisis Team for this area prior to the closing of our State Mental Health Hospitals). An implementation plan which takes four years (one year has already passed) is years too long. In the meantime, something needs to be in place which consolidates all of the services in town. That will cost money. Spend it. If one life is lost because of a delay in implementation, I will consider that to be the responsibility of those who are in the position to take action and fail to do so. I hope I'm being emphatic enough. When there was a crisis team, we were on call 24/7 to evaluate people in crisis. We hospitalized people with serious mental health issues on the spot. We made referrals. We followed up the very next day. We saw teens who were cutting, who were suicidal, psychotic. I know that we saved lives. Lucky for everyone that we were State-funded. But that funding went away with the demise of State facilities and, since that time, services have become more and more fractured. I know the history because I lived it. We need to do better. And, we need to do better immediately, not in three years. Education and coordination takes time. Hire a company which is expert in setting up a system which is accessible to every citizen in town, while the town in working to set up it's own system. Or, use another agency for crisis intervention and referral - one with experience. We do a lot of talking in town; we have a lot of discussion. We do a lot of "planning", which takes a very long time. Generally, that planning piece takes much longer than people anticipate and the implementation takes even longer. Bottom line is this: People with mental health issues who are in crisis can't wait for us to figure things out. We need to do something which can start up within months. That will give us time to "discuss" and "plan" and "implement" our own system. In my opinion, failing to act is irresponsible. I say this as a mother, a citizen of Lexington, a therapist and a humanitarian. I'm glad to meet with anyone interested to discuss ideas. I know that there are others in town who feel similarly. We should not be the town which allows people with serious mental health issues to fall through the cracks when they need us the most. Students, older individuals, families all need to know where to go for mental health services and they need to be able to access them quickly and efficiently. If we can't do that by the end of summer with the current plan, we need to find a way. We've already taken too long. Helene Mayer Lexington, MA 02421 From:Valerie Overton To: Subject:Lexington mental health needs Date:Friday, March 23, 2018 11:19:17 AM Dear Selectmen and School Committee members, First, I’d like to thank you again for holding a series of joint meetings between your boards to understand and address our community’s mental health needs. I am grateful to see your commitment to this important topic. During last night’s meeting, several presenters discussed existing services and their perceptions of gaps and challenges. I’d like to point out a major gap/challenge that was not addressed last night: the dearth of experienced mental health providers, resources, and good practices for addressing the needs of the various demographic groups in our town. Unfortunately, current services and presenters (and their materials, handouts, and websites) appear to represent white judeo-christian cisgender heterosexual people. This is one important reason (among other reasons) why many people in our town hesitate to reach out for help when they need it. For example, I have personally heard from Chinese, Korean, and Black individuals in our town, who have told me that they do not feel confident that available services will understand them and their needs from a cultural perspective, so they have not reached out. Similarly, individuals in town who are LGBTQ+ have told me that they have trouble finding (or cannot find at all) mental health resources that have experience with LGBTQ+ issues. Furthermore, some youth and seniors struggle with safety issues in the family, schools, faith institutions, community, and assisted living or other care institutions for seniors – and they need resources that address those issues. Sadly, we have youth in Lexington who are abused or outright rejected by their families for being LGBTQ+ and we have seniors who have felt the need to go back into the closet in order to feel safe receiving care. I have tried to help, but these are systemic issues that need a system response. Additionally, I know that some people with disabilities or learning differences have found it difficult to find appropriate mental health care. I strongly believe that your boards need to hear from a more representative cross-section of our community in order to effectively plan next steps for mental health structures in our town. I thank Deepika Sawhney for mentioning this at the end of the meeting last night, and to Eileen Jay for adding her comment as well. Sincerely, Valerie Overton From:Meredith Applegate To: Cc:Meredith Applegate Subject:mental health collaboration across municipal, school dept, and community organizations Date:Tuesday, May 22, 2018 11:43:38 AM Dear Board of Selectmen and School Committee, I wholeheartedly agree that a collaboration across Municipal Depts, School Depts and other Community Organizations (much like the conversations initiated by the Youth Coalition) is needed to address mental health issues across all ages within our community. * I have seen the collaboration between the Town / Municipal and School Depts as they related to school construction projects and thought it was extremely successful and efficient. * Just as some students may not want to seek counseling/help at school due to confidentiality issues, other residents who may need help seeking counseling may not be in school and a broader system needs to be in place. * Often times someone needs to feel that help surrounds them in all facets of life (vs. just one) before someone feels comfortable seeking it. * As has been discussed in many Coalition meetings/discussions, the stigma associated with mental health is a big issue and yet we read daily about the increase among mental health issues among people of all ages - in our schools and at home. * I do not think most parents/students understand resources available to them in school and in the community and it can be difficult to navigate for someone who has lived here for decades - - let alone someone new to the community who may need it the most. * I applaud the idea of a task force and examining neighboring towns as far as what work has been done (just as was done with Community Center, etc.) to provide an integrated mental health plan/program across the community/town/schools. As with many of our greatest societal/community issues, there is no “easy” solution and will involve work by many people and groups. Thank you to the Board of Selectmen and School Committee for coming together to engage the community, gather input and start a task force around mental health. Respectfully, Meredith Applegate,