I was unable to make it to the end of last nights neighborhood meeting. Curious to see where we ended up with the potential move of Cascadia health services to our neighborhood. Is this a done deal? How can we stop this from happening? The Eliot neighborhood is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I would hate to see something like this ruin it's potential and have any negative influence on future transformations .
Once again my phone rings, it's people from the Elliott neighborhood telling me CASCADIA healthcare is buying up houses and property for group homes, WELL DUH, I told you all for years that this would happen, some of these places WILL BE A DANGER TO THE COMMUNITY.
Some will be of great service to a few, but most will be a cancer in time.
The current elected officials will do nothing to regulate or control this issue at all.
You will get another law..."like Jessica's law" before this is over.
What I write here will get treated as Spam, and deleted, but those of you who read this better listen or you will get dumped on in a worst way, YOUR NEW NEIGHBOR, may not be one you want at your next picnic or walking pat your kids school...DON'T SAY I NEVER TOLD YOU SO. Jack Peek Amanda Fritz is running for city council, she and I differ on an issue:
Here are her thoughts, and my response.
In a message dated 08/19/2005 12:11:02 PM Pacific Daylight Time, amandafritz@comcast.net writes: Yes, I am willing to work and vote on the Council to put teeth into Good Neighbor Agreements of all kinds.
No, I'm not willing to help advocate for a change in the federal laws. I've pretty much lost faith and hope in our federal government under the current administration. I'm running for Council to affect the things I can change, rather than those I don't believe I can.
I would be very willing to participate in discussions at the state level about funding and staffing housing for mentally ill people, both criminal and not. There is a lack of understanding by elected officials about the level of support, for their lifetimes, some people will need. Mental illness is generally not curable, only controlled to a greater or lesser extent. Some people need a much higher level of supervision and support than is currently available outside of the State Hospital. And it would be cheaper both in dollars and in community safety for society to provide secure housing and staffing.
I disagree with you that the housing should be away from schools and parks. Children in our society today are not safe, for a variety of reasons including but not limited to threats from criminally insane people. Only some of the dangerous people are identified as such -- far more are the so-called friends of the family, or even within the family itself. Enacting regulations to put group homes further from schools, even if legal, would be feel-good legislation that wouldn't actually increase safety. It would provide a false sense of security. and Good Neighbor Agreements with teeth. And through community education about self-defense, supervision of children, reporting child abuse, and good neighbor relationships between neighbors as well as with institutions.
Amanda
I promised Amanda to forward this to those I copied,BUT.....her position in not defined as it should be. Example: GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS (not even close to good toilet paper), there is no good neighbor agreement needed period! You define via the contracts to the providers of services for the care of the criminally, strict guidelines about client care...number one!
You outline in the strictest terms available, that any incident outside of the house area resulting in damage to neighborhood property. or injury or death by a client to a victim in the area will result in loss of contract and compensation at respectful levels to any victim or family.
In otherwords...run the place as life's depend on it...real or business life. Jack Peek
No, I'm not willing to help advocate for a change in the federal laws. I've pretty much lost faith and hope in our federal government under the current administration. I'm running for Council to affect the things I can change, rather than those I don't believe I can. - Amanda
Until there is a change in the federal laws that identifies the difference between a violent past offender and your poor uncle who was born without the capacity to take care of himself, there will be problems placing people in neighborhoods. I think there is more political will under the current administration than there was under Clinton to solve this problem.
I disagree with you that the housing should be away from schools and parks. Children in our society today are not safe, for a variety of reasons including but not limited to threats from criminally insane people. Only some of the dangerous people are identified as such. Said Amanda.
Once again, I disagree, If these people have killed, raped, or burned....THEY ARE DANGEROUS. We cannot continue to allow the mental health community or people running for office to not separate them for other mentally ill people. We are allowing here in Oregon, thanks to idiots like Kate Brown...true predatory child molesters more time to rape by the refusal to pass real laws, with real teeth, now...not in 2007, Or later then that.
Amanda said: We need actual safety through secure facilities and adequate
The group home I have is not "secure," neither was the one the client in the news yesterday walked away from. If your client/patient is allowed 90 minutes of "UNSUPERVISED" walks out of the group home...It is not secure! The patient who left yesterday was on an unsupervised walk. Check Channel 8's coverage of the story: http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_081805_news_missing_woman_.883 3b298.html and Channel 2's coverage: http://www.katu.com/stories/79139.html This one talks about her being on an unsupervised walk.
Most of you just delete my "serial emails" ...those of you who do not, know I have been telling you that there is a real bad profile showing in the issue of placement of the criminally insane. This walkaway is a real signal, that the care is not secure, and the idea that people that have been judged a danger to themselves and the community should either not be there, or never allowed out alone.
If there is to be a defining answer to this issue...It's honest (Has not been in the past) NOTIFICATION as to the nature of the client and the limits the neighbors must abide by, and the punishment of the providers of the services, if there is a 6 PM "breaking news story."
Am I a NIMBY??? Yes, that is honest, that is much less the honesty shown to my family, my neighbors, and other neighborhoods in the past.
I can live with these places if, Amanda, or Randy Leonard has the next one placed with in 400 ft of their house or kids school, after that is done...all is well.
Those of you who want Cascadia for a "new neighbor" better let your other neighbors know you do.....Those of you who don't better ask Ted Wheeler what he wants, because he will beat Diane Linn, and she is in favor of this deal..BETTER DO IT SOON!
Those of you who want Cascadia for a "new neighbor" better let your other neighbors know you do.....Those of you who don't better ask Ted Wheeler what he wants, because he will beat Diane Linn, and she is in favor of this deal..BETTER DO IT SOON!
The fight against this intruder for neighborhood safety has many contacts with elected officals, please ask very direct questions as to their positions on placing these sites in your areas.
Those electeds, an wannabe's, if they do not answer the direct question when asked have either not done the homework on the issue or may have money for their election already in the bank. We sure found that out over here in Foster-Powell when they placed 5 criminally insane men next to a grade school. BEWARE of AMANDA FRITZ, she is in total lockstep with Cascadia on this issue. ASK HER WHAT PUTTING "TEETH" IN A GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT REALLY MEANS. Jack Peek
What I find here that is scary for some of you that have worked against this issue to protect your neighborhood is the lack of supporting posts to this forum.
I can tell you why, but it will only enflame some for not facing up to the dangers that these places can and do present.
You know about the rape in the Cully neighborhood, because it wasn't in yours, SO WHAT?
Matt and others have walked point for you, please do not walk behind them anymore or your next walk maybe with "a new neighbor" that may not have your interest at heart.
Start calling elected officals, an start calling them for their lack of concern for community safety, "call wannabes" like AMANDA FRITZ who will slam dunk these places in your neighborhood, but will leave her upscale neighborhood unmarked, trust me I KNOW of what I speak. Jack Peek
CRIMINALLY INSANE MOVING IN ALSO IN SANDY, ORE. SAID THE AM NEWSTORY:
If I could pick numbers in the lottery, like I forecast the complete destruction of neighborhoods by this element of the mental health community..........I'd get the hell out of this also insane state.
I can hear the meetings now ,"OH THESE ARE JUST SOME NICE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE, WITH A HISTORY OF MINOR CRIMES!"
The above, a direct quote from a lying official of then Network Behavioral healthcare (now CASCADIA) THE NICE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE, TURNS OUT TO BE CRIMINALLY INSANE WITH A DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF CRIMES SUCH AS MURDER, ARSON, AND RAPE.
Maybe Jim Halava from CASCADIA will be quoted again saying, " WE JUST GOT OFF TO A ROCKY START ," when one of his not even criminally insane clients got loose in the PDX neighborhood, and raped a woman.
Elected officials, AND Wannabe's currently running, run from me like track stars, because they know, I know, they will do NOTHING!
I stand by my forecast, that someone will be killed before this element of the mental health population is kept were they belong......behind a locked gate, and not loose for 90 minutes "UN FING SUPERVISED" next to a grade school like I have.
Lastly...the coward media ignores me, and the pleas of neighborhood people currently like me fighting this deserve shame for not one editorial exploring the real impact of this deadly critical mass issue.
As in Sandy, Oregon where the very same type of placement is happening, the neighborhood has given up the fight, My GOD, what is wrong with you folks?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there hasn't been a post one in support of the issue of standing up to these people, if nothing but reporting that people you voted for have long sense screwed us all....MY EXAMPLE...RANDY LEONARD. OK, remember, I told you so. JP
A large group of us busted our humps for 6 weeks (that's how much warning they gave us) to no avail. The sale has closed. Now, we are left with crumbs.
To date, most city officials have not been sympathetic to our cries.
However, Eliot has not given up the fight. It turns out that is possible to retroactively amend Cascadia's contract and we are trying to do that. Additionally, the city is starting a task force to address site location of these types of facilities. We will be a part of that group. It's not much, but we finally have a Multnomah Councillor on our side and we are working with that person now.
There are plenty of people that don't want Cascadia around. With that in mind, please think about what you say when you lash out at people:
My GOD, what is wrong with you folks?
The outrage is definitely here, but we feel that table-banging isn't going to get us there.
Chris, my outrage sometimes gets this best of me, too much to detail here as to the reasons, I'm sorry about my lashing out......BUT, if there is progress, it has to be soon, I KNOW for a fact other sites are planned,neighborhoods must come together.
There was a citizen group on siting..I WAS there until they got so sideways with the people they brought in from "other" neighborhoods.with talking points right out of Cascadia's canned neighborhood meeting debates. Lets get together soon.. THANKS AGAIN! Jack Peekl
The outrage is definitely here, but we feel that table-banging isn't going to get us there.
I guess after re-reading the above, I will ask what will it take ????
I too started out, trying to be respectful, but when I got "killed" in the politics of this issue, it became a simple," These idiots are risking the safety of my family!"
So, I guess I know this issue better then you all do, I have done the homework, attended more neighborhood meetings in 9 months all over the city(you can ask Willy Brown) then Potter has gone so far in a year, and talked to people who could change the law in DC, in person.
I KNOW, some people don't care for my approach, but if you want the facts..and the truth, don't ask Tom or Randy, you will get it from me, I think you all may bang a few tables too before this is over, your outrage..may get the best of you...IT HAS ME. JP:
When you only get 10 minutes with the Mayor, the truth is he is blowing you off!
We need a bunch of folks real soon..or we live with this deal.
