PORT TOWNSEND — While there is no sure formula for preventing violent acts by mentally ill people, communities can protect themselves by observing the behavior of those around them, mental health officials in both Clallam and Jefferson Counties say.
“In most communities, people generally know who is falling through the cracks,” said Sam Markow, Jefferson County Mental Health director.
“When you see someone who could be a danger to themselves or someone else, you need to engage them in some way.”
“If someone comes to the attention of a family member or a community member, they can contact us, and we’ll pay them a visit,” said Peter Casey, executive director of Peninsula Behavioral Health in Port Angeles.
“Maintaining contact with other people is a great way to tune in to what they are thinking.”
Mental health issues were pushed to the forefront after a 20-year-old man, who was reportedly to be mentally ill, killed 26 people and himself Friday at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
North Olympic Peninsula school districts have since increased their counseling options, proactively seeking out students who need to talk about the situation.
“Right now, we have counselors and clergy at all of our schools who are ready to talk to students,” Port Angeles School District Superintendent Jane Pryne said Monday.
“We were prepared for a lot of students to come in on Monday, but we didn’t have as many as we expected,” Pryne said.
“I think a lot of kids were able to have discussions with their families over the weekend.”
Pryne said the district will keep the extra counselors in place and then determine whether the increased presence is necessary after the two-week winter break, which begins after Friday.
Pryne said the district has “many precautions in place” that will lead to the notifications of parents and the police if a teacher or staff member sees a students who could potentially become a danger to themselves or others.
Pryne said she visited all schools in the district Monday, directing them to lock all doors in all schools aside from the entrances that lead directly to the school office.
The Port Angeles school system has 3,864 students and is the largest district on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Chimacum, with about 1,150 students, allows a high enough degree of personal contact between staff and students that such problems can be spotted, said high school Principal Whitney Meissner.
Even so, no one at the school had suspected the two students who brought machetes to school in Chimacum in November 2011 had violent tendencies.
“The staff really knows the kids here,” Meissner said.
“This allows them to detect warning signals, such as high stress levels caused by their parents’ divorce or a breakup, which can really hurt kids at that age.”
Meissner said the staff is on watch for children who have withdrawn or changed, or are not doing well in school.
“We can never tell whether someone is going to commit a violent act, but we need to pay more attention to all of the kids,” Meissner said.
“You need to be aware of all of the warning signs.”
In a small school, staff can determine which kids are lonely or isolated.
“I had a professor in college who said that loneliness is the worst social disease,” Meissner said.
“We should make sure that every kid has a friend, someone to talk to, and if they are always sitting alone, we should seek them out.”
Meissner admitted that a child who wants to be alone will be harder to reach, which leads to a truth about mental health: A mentally ill person needs to accept and enter treatment in order to get better.
“There is no way that we can guarantee security, but there are ways we can reduce the risk,” Markow said.
“Mental health is notoriously bad at predicting violence, but those who have committed these acts have usually come to the attention of the system in the past.
“If people are getting the treatment they need, they are less likely to become violent.”
“There are a lot of reasons that people who need treatment aren’t getting it,” Casey said.
“They might not be able to afford the [medications], or there are some side effects like weight gain or sexual dysfunction that makes them not want to take the meds, or they might not think they are mentally ill.
“You can’t force people to go into treatment, but they need to know that the treatment is available.”
The mental health agencies in the two counties face funding challenges, but both Markow and Casey said they have the resources to investigate any individual reports of mental illness.
“Whenever funding is cut, it has an effect on the safety net for the community,” Casey said.
“We could always use more resources, but there are ways to stretch the funding, like putting people into group therapy rather than in an individual situation.”
Casey said both Jefferson and Clallam counties benefit from a one-10th of 1 percent property tax funding, which are essential for operation.
Meissner said she intends to maintain a high state of alertness about mental health issues, which could be exacerbated by a school shooting or a similar disaster.
As a preventive measure, the Chimacum and Port Townsend school districts will announce a “call to service” at a basketball game between the two schools this Thursday, which is meant to increase this vigilance.
“We are asking every parent and every community member to commit to spending one hour with kids in 2013, even if it is only coming into the school and talking with them,” she said.
“If everyone gives an hour of their time, it will make a huge difference.”
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
