We have written many times over the years about our son’s schizophrenia. As you would expect living in Florida (a state usually ranked 49th in mental health support) leaves us little to talk about on the positive side of this nightmare.
The times are changing, however. Three amazing organizations are in the trenches taking on our mental health crisis.
First is Dr. Christine Cauffield, chief executive officer of LSF Health Systems.
As stated on their website, LSF is a nonprofit managing entity “contracted with the Florida Department of Children and Families to ensure access to evidence-based behavioral health care services for people facing poverty who are uninsured or underinsured.” They serve a 23-county region in North Florida.
This approach helps people at risk for or diagnosed with mental health and/or substance use disorders find the help they need. Services include prevention, intervention, treatment and care coordination towards optimal recovery.
SMA Healthcare’s Sandra Jackson, regional director of clinical operations, recently took to social media to share her views on National Mental Health Month and the importance of prioritizing positive mental health habits.
Operating in six local counties, SMA’s goals include:
- Mental health and substance use therapy
- Psychiatric medication management
- Care coordination
- Assertive community treatment counseling service
Finally, an impressive organization that we recently started working with, Patients Not Prisoners. Founder Lisa Taliaferro is dedicated to ensuring that individuals living with mental illness receive proper care instead of being criminalized. Her personal experience with her sons’ involvement in the justice system while dealing with mental illness has further motivated her advocacy and support efforts.
As a result, she founded the organization to continue advocating, educating and supporting this cause.
To raise awareness, a free food and bowling event takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, June 28, in Palatka. Call (386) 385-3923 or visit PatientsNotPrisoners.org/may-2024-events for details.
Richard & Kathleen Marquis, St. Augustine
Nonprofit theft prompts safety message
Our Haitian orphanage ministry, All Things New Inc., had our bank account wiped out by cyber thieves. At the end of May, these criminals emptied our account via ACH transactions to the tune of $19,000. This is a crippling amount for a small ministry that is solely dependent on monthly donors to support our orphanage that comprises approximately 25 children and close to 25 workers.
Once we were aware of the theft we immediately visited and informed our bank. We learned that while individuals have 60 days to report this type of theft to protect their funds, businesses have just 24 hours to report missing funds to their bank; if not, then the funds are generally unrecoverable.
Our bank was able to replenish our account $7,000 as this amount fell within the 24-hour window to report. Nonetheless, we are still left with a $12,000 shortage.
It is well-documented that Haiti has been under siege for several years by ruthless gangs. They have choked off goods arriving at ports, intercepting desperately needed food and supplies. Despite the hold the gangs have on the country, we have been able to get some funds to our children and workers to help them survive, at least to this point.
We are now faced with the very real prospect of not being able to continue supporting our ministry, until (and if) we can recover these funds.
While this is devastating for our ministry, we hope that through this message, all individuals and businesses will become acutely aware of the need to monitor their bank accounts daily. We continue to work with our bank and are hopeful to recover our $12,000, so we can continue to support our needy children and workers in Haiti.
God save Haiti, All Things New and our children.
Matt Bush, executive director, All Things New Inc.
Cultivated meat not the answer
A June 9 letter criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis for banning cultivated meat. The writer states that 99% of all U.S. livestock is factory-farmed and that the animals are continuously pumped full of antibiotics, which then trickle into plant life and endanger the populace. Her conclusion? Current agricultural practices are unsustainable, and cultivated meat offers a solution.
I believe this letter is full of errors with a touch of truth.
First, 99% of all U.S. livestock are not produced on factory farms, unless you conclude that any farm that produces livestock as an income source is a factory farm. Such farms are generally defined as large operations where livestock are treated very cruelly. However, in the U.S. many farms are small and family-owned, where cows and other livestock are treated very humanely.
Second, most livestock are not continually pumped full of low-level antibiotics. On my farm, if livestock happens to get sick, then antibiotics are given to the sick animal, just like people are treated when they get sick. At times, large feeding operations may place low levels of antibiotics in the feed to fight a large outbreak of disease, but only when animals are sick and only for short times.
They are not continually fed antibiotics as the reader implies.
Third, cultivated meats do not come close to standard meat. They lack many of the same nutrients and are certainly not as good for you.
Finally, don’t fall for scare tactics from the ill-informed. Livestock farmers across the U.S. are dedicated to producing quality products that are safe for the public. After all, they also eat what they produce.
Calvin Johnson, cattle rancher, Jacksonville
Justice Dept. ‘weaponization’ claims absurd
Accusations that the Biden administration has engaged in malicious, partisan weaponization of the Justice Department crumble under the weight of the facts.
The state of New York successfully prosecuted a tax case against Donald Trump’s business organization and successfully prosecuted him for manipulating business records to conceal illegal campaign contributions. In addition, two federal grand juries indicted Trump, once for mishandling classified documents and again for efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
However, the Justice Department under the Biden administration indicted Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey (and his wife) and Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas (and his wife) for accepting bribes from foreign countries. Special counsel David Weiss also brought charges against Hunter Biden, a Democrat, for purchasing and owning a handgun for a few months while using drugs (he was convicted).
The claims of political weaponization by Biden’s Justice Department are negated by looking at this rogues’ gallery — one Republican and three Democrats.
Steve Entman, Jacksonville
Possible school closings not surprising
Reading Mark Woods’ June 7 column, I wanted to feel badly for the people protesting the possible closing of Holiday Hill Elementary.
But really, what did they expect? The school is in a bright-red Duval County voting precinct that went for Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 by a 3-1 margin.
DeSantis makes no secret of his desire to disassemble the public school system in Florida and hand as much as possible over to the private school or charter school sectors. He’s proud of it. But when you starve traditional public schools of students, it should come as no surprise that some of them are going to close.
Maybe this is a teaching moment for voters who live in the area to more carefully consider the consequences of candidates’ policies — and not just their party affiliation — before voting them into office.
Mike Lafferty, Saint Johns
Firefighters pension a bad idea
Why is the City Council considering going back to the old pension plan for firefighters in the new proposed contract? The taxpayers approved a half-cent sales tax to help pay off the huge debt the city was facing in 2017.
Will the taxpayers in the future be faced with the same problem and to once again be asked for an increase in the sales tax to get them out of a hole? How far down has the debt been paid since 2017? Has anyone looked at the actuarial numbers to estimate the impact of this decision?
This looks to me like a typical political move to spend the taxpayers’ money and gain favor with a segment of the population, with little regard for the future impact it will have.
Richard Pierce, Jacksonville