By Jeffrey Ellis
Thank you for your coverage of (Step Up’s planned Daniel’s Village mental health facility). It’s saddening to realize that many residents of the affected area have such a distorted and inaccurate prejudice toward the victims of mental illness (“Residents to Step Up: Step off,” Oct. 18). The mentally ill are much more apt to be victims of crime than perpetrators. The likelihood a mentally ill person committing a crime against the residents or their children is statistically quite low. The logic of denying access to housing for those with brain disorders is the same thinking applied in the past to exclude racial and religious minorities and discriminate against cancer victims. Mental illness is a treatable medical condition that can be controlled.
Furthermore, the salutary effect of neighborhood children learning that mentally ill people deserve to be treated with respect and compassion can not be underrated. The truth is that between 5 and 10 percent of our population suffers from some form of brain disorder, directly affecting one in five families. I, myself, am the parent of a young man who suffered his first psychotic episode while attending UC- Berkeley as a National Merit Scholar. I can attest to the truth that no informed mental health advocate would ever consider providing independent housing to a mentally ill young person who posed a danger to him or herself and others. The proposed residents of Daniel’s Village are young human beings who need a decent place to live with on-site staff support to develop and maintain independent lives. They have been under treatment for their disorders and pose no danger to the community.
I hope that those who have reacted so vehemently against the Daniel’s Village project will take the opportunity to learn the truth about those who live with brain disorders. They will likely find that they have friends and family with firsthand knowledge, who can educate them and diffuse their irrational fears.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2007. Read the original PDF.