Mental Illness: Undersheriff Distler and Deputies to Meet with Community

“Orcas Response to Newtown” continues at monthly meetings

The next “Meet the Deputies” gathering will be on Monday, April 22  from  5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall. It will a continuation of last month’s meeting and will address Community Mental Health and Wellness Issues.

The following topics will be addressed:
–drug use and alcoholism — qualifying for and accessing treatment services;
–underage marijuana and hallucinogen use, teen drug houses;
–partnerships among the Sheriff’s department,  EMTs and mental health resources;
–informing general community, all residents, of Crisis Line number for mental health emergencies;
–means of dealing with people who “act strange” or make us uncomfortable and how to prevent escalation of erratic behavior into violence;
— a high school class that needs community funding: Neurobiology and Drug Addiction.

Undersheriff Distler and the County Sheriff’s office have taken the lead in continuing these discussions as an outgrowth of the “Orcas Response to Newtown” consensus group: personal responsibility, community mental health, gun safety and social inclusion were some of the broad topics on which we reached consensus. If interested, you can find information about the 15 hours of consensus meetings by going to OrcasIssues.com or by going to the public library orcaslibrary.org and searching under “Orcas Response to Newtown.”