EDITORIAL: County rights ship on mental health
News TribuneJun 27, 2017
It's hard not to wonder if a mental health responder, a professional trained to identify mental illness and defuse situations, had been with
In the wake of this tragedy, we're relieved to see the
Last year, a slim majority of the council disregarded the results of a study it commissioned and voted down a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax to help the South Sound's mentally ill and addicted residents. It would have brought
And yes, we'll lament that
But there's a new county executive in town, and his freshly approved 2017 supplemental budget brings good news.
In March,
The council wrestled with the budget and whittled that number down to
Call it a good faith deposit toward a
Maybe the council finally figured out the Sherriff's Department and jail system are bearing the cost of our region's mental health crisis. Maybe that's why after four months of deliberation, the council finally approved
Area jails are filled with people who could have benefited from a police-mental health intervention, which is why the
Part of the county's overall
Collaboration, trustworthiness and forward steps are what we're looking for in elected county leadership. For too long, first responders have been left alone to address the area's lack of behavioral health treatment. They need back-up and quick.
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