By Katherine K. McTaggart Mid-City
As a Mid-City resident, former special education teacher and one-time McKinley Elementary School parent, I read about the resistance on the part of some of my neighbors to having Daniel’s Village, a residence for young adults with mental illness, in our neighborhood (“Parents to Step Up: Step off,” Oct. 18). It is so sad to me that there are still people who fail to understand that mental illness is just that — an illness. Like other illnesses, it is treatable, and those who suffer from it are capable of leading productive lives, particularly if treatment and support services are available to them when they are young. Because I know Step Up and its services very well, I know that its members receive the very best of what is needed for them to be healthy and contributing citizens of our community.
I hope that we can all remember that each and every person suffering from a mental illness is someone’s child. None of us can know when or if it might be one of our own children who is afflicted next. I ask these worried parents: What would they want for their young adult child if that child were to become ill?
I expect that our neighborhood will be as safe or safer than ever, knowing that eight troubled young people are receiving every support that they need to become well.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 20, 2007. Read the original PDF.