Mental Health Clinic Closures
When I saw the front page I was sickened by what I read: “The long-awaited closing Friday of three Los Angeles County mental health centers has permanently cut off hundreds of mentally ill people from treatment, triggering suicide threats, confusion and frantic calls by frightened mental patients to the overcrowded clinics that remain open, officials said.”
The state, we are told, did not come through with the necessary funds to maintain much-needed mental health services.
Where are the values of our politicians and our society? Must they, must we, always go where the money is, where the votes are? Where is the compassion for our fellow human beings? Is there no decent, caring majority in the halls and seats of power?
We look around the world. Every day there are new killers and new killing fields. We are shocked and we deplore what is going on--elsewhere.
But we have our killers and our killing fields, too. Only our bullets come disguised as budget cuts.
ROLF GOMPERTZ
North Hollywood
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