The Coast News, March 22, 2013

OPINION&EDITORIAL
Views expressed in Opinion & Editorial do not
THE COAST NEWS
A4 necessarily reflect the views of The Coast News
MARCH 22, 2013
Posing solutions for mental health issues
By Carrie Eichmann, Julia
Samara and
Matthew Stephens
Evan Kwik was a relatively
unknown 20-year-old
Encinitas resident until a
few weeks ago, when he
wounded two Sheriff’s
deputies and ended his
own life. Evan had been
suicidal and violent
toward his f amily in the
months leading up to his
death, and was reportedly
struggling with depression
and drug a buse. Evan’s
mother even filed thr ee
restraining orders against
him. He was also briefl y
hospitalized for mental
health symptoms.
Clearly, these occurrences
both pr edicted her
son’s impending suicide,
and begged authorities for
help in getting Evan treatment.
The very treatment
her son was refusing to get
for himself. If a mother’ s
desperation wasn’t enough
to prevent this incident,
what would have been?
As mental health pr ofessionals,
we have seen
many of the most mentally
ill individuals refuse the
help they so undoubtedl y
need, leaving their f amilies
to pick up the pieces.
Evan’s family knew he was
struggling but without his
consent, they couldn’t get
their adult son help.
About one in fi ve
Americans has a mental
illness; of them, only 60
percent get tr eatment. In
fact, people with the most
severe illnesses ar e the
COMMUNITY COMMENTARIES
The Community Commentary section is open to everyone. Opinions expressed in the Community
Commentary section are in no way representative of The Coast News Group. Send submissions, no longer
than 700 words, to editor@coastnewsgroup.com with “Commentary” in the subject line. Submission does not
guarantee publication. If published, please wait one month for next submission.
least likely to get help. The
truth is that people with
mental health concerns
are more likely to be victims
of violence than to
commit acts of violence.
That being said, they are
also more likely than your
average person to commit
violent acts and to hurt
themselves. In San Diego
alone there is a suicide
every day.
So how do we prevent
violent acts like the one in
Encinitas while also pr otecting
the vulner able
mentally ill population?
One solution that w e
hear time and time again
is that it should be easier
to put mentally ill individuals
in the hospital. In
fact, this is something that
occurs regularly in San
Diego County as well as in
other parts of the countr y.
At first this solution makes
a lot of sense, as it tak es
unsafe people out of the
community and it f orces
them to get the help the y
obviously need.
However, the problem
with forced hospitalization
is twofold. First, hospitals
have limited capacity and
resources. That means that
the cost to taxpa yers is
high and the tr eatment
provided is short-term
(e.g. often less than thr ee
days). Second, hospitalizing
someone against their
will necessarily infringes
on basic human rights.
Where would society be if
anyone could be r emoved
from their home based
solely on the r eports of
family and friends?
In fact, in Evan’s case,
he was hospitalized twice
for very short periods of
time, but this did not
improve his symptoms or
his safety in the long run.
It did not pr event him
from shooting tw o
deputies and killing himself.
The solution w e propose
is simple: be pr oactive.
In order to be pr oactive,
we must commit more
resources. When families
ask for help dealing with a
mentally ill f amily member,
there should be
enough funding, support,
and mental health pr ofessionals
to meet their need.
The In-Home
Outreach Team, also
known as IHO T, does just
that. IHOT engages individuals
with severe mental
illness, who have resisted
getting treatment for
themselves. Designed and
implemented by San Diego
County and Telecare
Corporation, IHOT consists
of thr ee regional
teams: North Coastal,
Central, and Eastern
regions. When an indi vidual
with a mental illness
has behaviors that concern
those around them, IHOT
can be called to intervene.
Unlike traditional mental
health care, IHOT doesn’t
wait for the indi vidual to
come to their office.
Rather, IHOT delivers
TURN TO MENTAL HEALTH ON A28
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Preserving Quarry Creek
For over 15 years I have been sharing
my family home with thousands of local residents.
My family home, the Marron-Hayes
Adobes Historic District, and the g rounds
that surround it are a living history museum
going back 9,000 years. From the sacred El
Salto Waterfall at the head of the Buena
Vista Creek Valley, to the adobe in the center,
to the cr eek that w as the boundar y
between two early missions, to the site of
first contact in 1769 b y the Portola expedition
— we have it all.
The value of these resources have been
documented numerous times over the years
— with a plaque by Native Daughters of the
Golden West, eligibility for the National
Historic Registry, and the listing as a sacred
site El Salto Waterfall by the Calif ornia
Native American Heritage Commission.
Now a de veloper, McMillin, is proposing
to build 656 homes in the heart of this
valley. The Carlsbad City Council will make
their decision at 6 p.m. March 26.This is the
last chance for the residents of this area to
help determine the f ate of this v alley.
Please join me in telling the Ma yor and
Council to preserve the little we have left of
our rich local histor y- and mo ve development
off the panhandle. Your children and
grandchildren will thank y ou. Please call
me at (760) 729-1818.
Shelley Hayes Caron,
Marron- Hayes Adobes Historic District
For years I have observed Carlsbad city
official’s failure to acquir e open space
despite passage of Measure C in 2002. The
proposed development of 656 housing units
at Quarry Creek is an opportunity for them
to honor this vote, and the recommendation
of the Open Space Committee to acquir e
this land. But history shows us there is not
an even playing field when it comes to the
citizens and de velopers. Developers hold
private meetings with the ma yor and council
members while citiz ens advocating for
land preservation have limited access.
Developers get ask ed numerous questions
at public hearings, while project opponents
get none. Unequal treatment built into the
land-use decision process marginalizes such
citizens and diminishes their impact.
Preserving the panhandle of the
Quarry Creek project preserves the most
significant natural, cultural and historical
site left in Car lsbad. The City Council can
do this as a f air compromise — building
denser, higher and more affordable in order
to preserve more land for open space. Will
the City Council listen to their r esidents?
Or will the developers’ voice be the only one
that matters? Attend the City Council hear-
ing at 6 p.m. March 26 and see f or yourself
who they listen to.
Mary Anne Viney,
Carlsbad
Adobe back on most endangered list
That was a headline for a June 22, 2012
story in The Coast News. The Marron-Hayes
Adobe had been ad ded back to the Sa ve
Our Heritage Or ganizations (SOHO) 2012
list of most endanger ed historic resources.
The Adobe had been on the list bef ore in
2003 when ther e was talk of placing the
Rancho del Oro freeway interchange right
next to it. Now the thr eat is building 656
homes all ar ound it with the spr awling
Quarry Creek development. Instead of looking
out on hundreds of acres of land one will
be looking at hundr eds of houses. Bruce
Coons, Executive Director of SOHO ,
explained why this ar ea is so important,
“We have very few adobes fr om the
Mexican-Rancho period of Calif ornia and
this one is extremely important and almost
none of them are in their original settings.”
We are so fortunate to have one of the most
significant historic r esources in all of San
Diego County right her e. Please ask the
Carlsbad Mayor and City Council to shrink
the Quarry Creek development off the panhandle.
We don’t want our histor y to
become extinct.
Tese Gorszwick,
Carlsbad
Carlsbad traffic dangerous for
Oceanside seniors
The proposed Quarry Creek Project
near College Boulevard and state Route 78
doesn’t just cause traffic gridlock for drivers
— it is a pedestrian safety nightmar e. Just
east of College Boule vard on Lak e
Boulevard there are five senior housing
complexes. My mother-in-law lives in one.
Every day mobility impair ed seniors —
often in wheelc hairs or using w alkers, are
seen trying to cross College at Lak e to go
shopping in the Quarr y Creek Center. This
is one of the busiest pedestrian inter sections
in the entir e city of Oceanside. But
the streets were certainly not designed with
pedestrians in mind. Visibility is poor, there
is no safety island, and signals are timed for
fast moving cars — not senior s in wheelchairs.
There are already seven lanes of
traffic and two bicycle lanes to cross. What
will adding thousands of more cars a day for
the Quarry Creek project do to this already
unsafe area? Whose mother will be struc k
by a car trying to do her shopping? Tell the
Oceanside City Council to keep up the barrier
behind Walmart. Let Carlsbad keep
their own traffic. Let us give our seniors a
Letters to the Editor and reader feedback are welcome.
Unsigned letters and letters without city of residence will not be published. Letters should be no longer than 300 words and
include a contact telephone number for conf irmation purposes only. Submission does not guarantee publication. Email letters to
letters@coastnewsgroup.com. Views expressed in letters do not reflect the views of The Coast News Group. If published, please
wait one month for next submission.
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER JIM KYDD
MANAGING EDITOR TONY CAGALA
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER CHRIS KYDD
ACCOUNTING BECKY ROLAND
COMMUNITY NEWS EDITOR JEAN GILLETTE
STAFF REPORTERS JARED WHITLOCK
RACHEL STINE
PRODUCTION EDITOR CHUCK STEINMAN
GRAPHIC ARTIST PHYLLIS MITCHELL
ADVERTISING SALES KRISTA LAFFERTY
NICOLE MAXWELL
RYAN SOLARSH
DEANNA STRICKLAND
CIRCULATION MANAGER BRET WISE
P.O. Box 232550, Encinitas, CA 92023-2550 • 760-436-9737
www.thecoastnews.com • Fax: 760-943-0850
MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The Coast News is a legally adjudicated
newspaper published weekly on Fridays
by The Coast News Group. It is qualified to
publish notices required by law to be published
in a ne wspaper of gener al circulation
(Case No. 677114).
Subscriptions: 1 year/$35; 6 mos./$26;
3 mos./$21 Send c heck or money order to:
The Coast Ne ws, P.O. Box 232550,
Encinitas, CA 92023-2550.
In addition to mail subscriptions,
more than 30,000 copies are distributed to
approximately 700 locations in the beac h
communities from Oceanside to Carmel
Valley.
The advertising deadline is the
Monday preceding the F riday of publication.
Editorial deadline is the F riday proceeding
publication.
INDEPENDENT FREE
PAPERS OF AMERICA
TURN TO LETTERS ON A28
Contributing writers:
CHRISTINA MACONE-GREENE
cmaconegrenne@coastnewsgroup.com
BIANCA KAPLANEK
bkaplanek@coastnewsgroup.com
PROMISE YEE
pyee@coastnewsgroup.com
SANDY CORONILLA
scoronilla@coastnewsgroup.com
PHOTOGRAPHER
DANIEL KNIGHTON
dan@pixelperfectimages.net
PHOTOGRAPHER
BILL REILLY
info@billreillyphotography.com
Contact the Editor
TONY CAGALA
tcagala@coastnewsgroup.com