Are They So Different?

As a longtime volunteer with Project Return, a network of clubs sponsored by the Los Angeles County Mental Health Assn. that provide social support for individuals with long-term mental illness, I was appalled by the information in Richard Lee Colvin’s “Variance Order Halts County Plans to Open Mental Health Center” (Times Valley Edition, July 18).

The negative reactions of the members of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School and its surrounding Reseda community to locating a county mental health center in the neighborhood for fear of “disoriented, depressed and dangerous” clients of the center is yet another example of ignorance and prejudice, of the “them” and “us” mind set of our community. Further compounding this tragedy are the last-minute, artificial bureaucratic obstacles imposed by the city.

Most of the members of the club that I facilitate are severely impaired and require ongoing treatment such as medication and counseling in order to maintain their foothold in society. Many have had to travel long distances in the last few years, usually by bus, to mental health centers in Van Nuys or San Fernando, although they may live in Tarzana or Canoga Park. They would benefit immeasurably from a center closer to home.

Our members are men and women, mostly in the “thirtysomething” generation. Some are, or have been married, and, in fact, we recently had a marriage between two members of our club. A few have children, who, although they are being taken care of by others, are dearly loved and spoken of frequently.

A large majority have been to college and some are graduates and have worked as professionals. They vote and care about what’s going on in the world. They read books and write poetry. Do these people sound so different from the rest of “us”?

In my 3 1/2 years of weekly meetings, I have met about 60 individuals diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. I have never observed an act of violence and rarely even a raised voice. They are gentle people, trying very hard to unobtrusively find a place for themselves in our world.

DIANA C. HOMER, Northridge