This post is actually an extension of the last post. Because the question of, "what are doing to help people right now?" is a very important topic.
It seems the conversation everywhere has been so focused on GUNS. I am a fan of stricter gun laws. The access to automatic weapons is ridiculous. I hope more common sense laws are passed in regards to gun control. If you know me, you know I don't even like guns but that is irrelevant. Ben once shot a ruffed grouse in front of me and it ruined my day. However, an old friend of mine who is a pastor now, wrote about how 50 years ago guns were more common place than they are today, yet there were not as many shootings. I would argue with him that automatic weapons have grown in their resource and popularity since then, adding to the problem. But I see his point. Many teachers are up in arms right now (...ha...I did that on purpose) about Trumps new proposal to arm teachers with an added bonus. I was flipping out about this at first myself. We do not need the Danya Dahlin's of the world packing heat in their classroom. It seemed bogus to solve a problem with more guns. ZERO of my high quality teacher friends are fans of this idea. I also spent a good time specifically ranting about the "bonus" part to my family. So I set out to write a blog post about how this was a ridiculous idea. And the more I read, the more I disproved my own standpoint.
Did you know that this whole "arming teachers and staff"is already done in over two dozen states in the U.S? The majority of staff in those schools report feeling safer, and more well equipped. One teacher even spoke about how she was so opposed, but now realizes we need to do "what is right" and not "what feels good". The problem might be Trumps delivery on the idea (you are all saying...duh). It's not just your random student teacher walking around with a gun. In these schools, they are extensively trained. It is posted throughout the schools that there ARE staff who are carrying guns, yet it is kept anonymous as to who is armed. The schools I read about who already do this require the staff who choose to carry have a psychological screening done first, prior to the training's. And the bonus part? Well, I came to terms with the fact that if someone is willing to stand up and say, "Yes, I will risk my life to go after an intruder to help in this situation (as my dad a bus driver has told me, and my husband a technology coordinator has said they would BE that person) why shouldn't they get a bonus? Do I think teachers should be called to be willing to put their lives on the line? Well, no, but it seems to be the world we live in now. I personally just want to spend my day teaching writers workshop and making volcano science experiments, but you also have to face reality. I might have to buy my own construction paper and books for my classroom library that year but you can trust me not to whine about it if Joe down the hall has spent extra time training and taking exams so that he is ready to die for the rest of us if that scenario arises. I really hate the idea of more guns in schools. But I also hate seeing school shooters going on rampages in schools. I really disliked being thoroughly patted down in the airport this summer while wearing skinny jeans and a tank top but when really bad things happen, there are consequences and a new standard of living is set for the rest of us. I think having armed staff or resource officers is an obvious option we have to be willing to put on the table, whether we like it or not.
All of this said, I don't think guns are our big issue here. I am a teacher, and before I want a gun it would be really nice if we had more resources for when a child gets angry enough to throw a chair across the room and tells me to f-off. (That has happened, I teach second grade). There are some ANGRY kids out there people, and many of us in the public school feel overwhelmed and understaffed on how to help these kids who really need help. I feel the media is not doing enough to focus on the bigger problem. CNN just ran a story showcasing how an AR-15 fires. I have no clue how that was supposed to enlighten any of us. We all know automatic weapons are very powerful and they SHOULD be harder to get. However these guns do not have legs and brains and walk into the schools and decide to shoot people. VERY SICK, HURT PEOPLE are doing this. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO HELP VERY SICK AND HURT PEOPLE? I decided to ask a group of people I know who have chosen to help people as their career. I reached out to my friends who were social workers, teachers, policemen, physician assistants who work in the E.R., mental health counselors and school counselors. These were some of their responses. And let me tell you, these good people are TIRED. Social workers and policemen specifically do NOT make enough money for what we ask of them on a daily basis. This is draining stuff. President Trump talked last week about looking into opening more mental health facilities and investing more in this realm. I have heard that he sometimes uses Twitter, I am wondering if he has Facebook so we can share the words of the following people with him. I think it is a good starting point.
The following is from a social worker who specializes in Children's Therapeautic Support Services as a school based mental health practitioner. She currently has 46 students on her caseload, and is paid for 40 hours a week. She wrote that; The quality of care is not where it needs to be when I have so many students. There are other schools with "waiting lists", but I don't believe in that. I just add the kid and prioritize the needs of the kids I see. Acute mental health hospitals are so full right now that they often won't have room for someone. In order for a student to be approved for hospitalization, they must meet certain requirements and they must have approval from the County. Depending on the family’s financial situation, there may or may not be a financial responsibility to the family. The waiting list for long term residential placements are usually quite lengthy and could often take several weeks, to several months, to move up to the top of a waiting list. If a child is extremely at risk and unsafe, it is the parent’s responsibility to keep that child safe until a hospital has an opening to take the child. Sometimes a child may continue to stay at an acute mental health hospital or live with another family member until there is an opening. Again, if a child does not have Medica Assistance, the parent would have to pay the entire fee either out of pocket or through their private insurance, which often does not cover the entirety of the hospitalization or Children’s Mental Health Case Management. There are other financial options for these families including TEFRA to help cover the costs of mental health services; however this is another lengthy process that often takes at least 3 months to receive. Bottom line, my biggest obstacle is that over 90% of the time these services are 100% voluntary by the parents. If a parent does not believe their child suffers from mental illness or refuses to follow through with recommendations of mental health professionals, they often go untreated and are even more at risk of harming themselves or others. If a child is approved for long term hospitalization, it is not a “snap of a finger” to get this process in motion. There are many different steps and “hoops to jump through” including a huge financial responsibility to the county or family. It is not as easy as it seems to get the mentally ill child the kind of support they desperately need, in a timely manner. The cost and cooperation by everyone involved is very lengthy and demanding. I would like to see more mental health services covered by private insurance so that these children do not go untreated, as it is extremely expensive to receive weekly mental health services or mental health hospitalizations, as well as an increased number of regional residential facilities available more quickly to children seeking treatment. More parent involvement in mental health services and a family therapy component mandated through truancy and probation, which I know has their own financial guidelines .
Christopher Peluso is a certified Physician's Assistant and has spent time working at one of the only two psychiatric hospitals in North Dakota. The biggest obstacle that he witnessed during his time there, was that there was not enough extended stay treatment facilities and mental health has lower reimbursment rates compared to other areas of medicine, so there are fewer providers. Christopher said higher reimbursment rates for mental health providers, more extended stay treatment facilities and re-opening or building more pscyhiatric hospitals would be things that he believes would help.
Katie, a social worker with over ten years of experience, says that she see's,"people being discharged from facilities way too soon because insurance will only cover ten days of inpatient treatment and another problem is there are not enough providers".
Laura has been a teacher for over 15 years, she said, "I have really seen the change in students over the years, what we need is more mental health help for our kids. More social workers. More school counselors. More psychologists. We as teachers receive mental health training, its a required piece to renew our license. We read books on the subject. We discuss it with other teachers. We know its an issue. The problem is that there aren't enough mental health professionals available to the schools to help these students. I am trained to teach. That doesn't mean I don't do whatever I can to support students who need it, but I am not the best resource for that. We have 600 students in our school and ONE social worker. That's not enough."
A friend of mine who is currently a state trooper but has been in law enforcement for over 10 years explained; "Through my interactions in assisting local agencies these last handful of years, it seems as though it is extremely difficult for those with mental illness, experiencing immediate mental distress, to find placement in facilities. Local officers will often spend three (or more) hours at a hospital, while a doctor evaluates the patient to see if a 72-hour mental health hold should be placed. That's not the real issue at hand. The real issue is that medical professionals often times call every mental health facility in the state (no joke) to try and find an open bed for the patient. I have witnessed this happen. Every place is either full, or they have a list of criteria they must follow before accepting the patient. Have they been drinking? have they been using drugs? are they currently injured in any way,? are there criminal charges pending? etc. People who legitimately need help and want help, end up getting turned away because there are no beds or services available to help them. The key issue is lack of available resources, and the lack of available room in facilities for those who need help. I have always said that the closing of the state hospital in Fergus Falls was a huge, huge mistake. Back when I worked for the police department, parties would be taken there on a regular basis. Since the State Hospital closing, it's a shot in the dark to find a place for people to find help."
All this being said, I am hoping I gave CNN some new ideas and material to work with. Like maybe some investigating on how we can pay mental health providers more, how can we extend what insurance covers for inpatient AND outpatient therapies? What do we need to do to start building more effective psychiatric hospitals? How can we provide schools with more counselors and mental health professionals so that teachers can TEACH, instead of trying to be something they are not trained to be. I also think parents need more mental health resources. We need to know how to watch for signs and BE better for our children.We need to do better across the board in the mental health realm. As a teacher, I believe people having babies NEED more guidance and help on HOW to take care of their mental health, for the sake of their children and our communities.
I also read arguments about how psychiatric therapy didn't do anything to help Adam Lanza, or Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, so therefor investing in that area wouldn't have "made any difference". However, like I said earlier, Sue Klebold would probably disagree with this. She feels her son was let out way to "early" from his therapy. It's probably time to start investing money here and working together to figure out how a BETTER job must be done. ARM us with more mental health resources. It's so much more than a gun issue. Labels: Thoughts on Life
