Ask them their plan. You know those folks who write the letters, spread the rumors and offer the snide comments to, Ask them after they halt the initiative to get the mental health crisis unit how they intend to address the growing need for mental health services in our community.
Ask them how they intend to expand mental health services for the fastest growing county in the state.
Ask them about their ideas for providing quality healthcare options in Carver County.
Ask them how they intend to address the thousands of phone calls coming into the Carver County sheriff's office
or how they intend to lower the suicide rates in our cities and schools,
Ask them about their commitment to economic competitiveness in an environment where our business owners lose millions dollars to basic diagnoses such as depression
The truth is they don't have a plan.
It certainly isn't to ease burden on the tax payers by reducing the number of inmates in our correctional facilities and connecting them with community based services, because only 25 percent of Chaska Police officers are trained to handle crisis situations and more often end up being a disservice to special needs families.
It can't be to address the shortage in psychiatric beds, the State legislature cut 600 million dollars to deepen it
Relocating the facility isnt the answer either. Chaska is the County seat and as such has the best access to County Social services.
Their also not overly concerned with decreasing the amount of Stigma faced by those experiencing mental illness as the Chaska Councillors went on the record citing a mental health facility as a public safety issue as if we were proposing to relocate St Peter State Hospital to their backyard. Think about it folks, if an individual is a threat to the public safety while in a treatment facility, are they less of a threat when not in a treatment in facility, your elected city officials "plan" for public safety is having the mentally ill wandering around town rather then receiving treatment at a licensed facility with specific criteria for admission that are guided by State statutes, and rather then switching up the purpose of an already existing facility placing a park next to a busy county road.That's not a plan, that my friends is a lack of common sense.
The only viable plan is the plan being advanced by the County in partnership with Ridgeview medical center and community advocates. Commissioner Maluchnik and myself have held town halls in the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed location of the crisis facility. They were publicized in the local papers, flyers were handed door to door and put up in public venues around town All those who voiced concerns were invited, emails were sent to the City Council asking for their attendance and none of them bothered to show up for a public dialogue on the issue, the Commissioner and I found overwhelming support for the project,
Randy Maluchnik is 100% correct in his approach to the City of Chaska as there was no dialogue to be had. Opponents didn't want a conversation, if they did they would have bothered to show up and say so. The Crisis unit benefits not just Carver county but it benefits the entire region as it represents a step in the right direction in addressing a statewide concern and establishes Carver County as being able and willing to provide leadership on the hard issues, It's time to end the debates of misinformation and stereotypes and it's time to acknowledge the unfortunate reality that the state can only do so much and recognize that at some time point efforts have to be made at the local level to develop and expand services that address the long term needs of the community.In short, It's time to move forward on the proposed mental health crisis facility.
