VVOL. 92 NO.2-34POL. 92 NO.2-34PAGESAGESJanuarJanuary 9, 2007 - January 9, 2007 - January 15, 2008y 15, 2008

CLEVELAND EDITIONCLEVELAND EDITION

The People’s Paper

Copyright© 2008, King Media Enterprises, Inc. -216-791-7600Copyright© 2008, King Media Enterprises, Inc. -216-791-7600111800 Shaker1800 Shaker Blvd. Cleveland, Ohio 44120Blvd. Cleveland, Ohio 44120

By Dr. JEFFREY PERKINSContributing Writer

Local news media reportershave recently reported a rash oftroubling encounters betweenthe mentally challenged home-less and the general public indowntown Cleveland and sur-rounding areas. The reports arefrightening, such as the one of ayoung Black male who boardsan RTA bus and throws a vial ofacid into the face of a lovelyyoung Black female. Whileboth are strangers, unbe-knownst to the lovely younglady is her assailant’s history ofserious mental illness.

A White male shoots andkills a veteran ClevelandHeights police officer. Recentlyreleased from prison, the gun-man, hearing voices, hadstopped taking his prescribedpsychotic medication.

In a public housing project,a young Black woman stabs hertwo young daughters anddrowns them in the bathtub.The woman was reported to besuffering severe post-partumdepression.

On downtown streets withnames like Euclid, Superior andSt. Clair, people who are home-less and mentally challengedare visible daily. They can beseen at bus shelters, publiclibraries and on street corners.While they wander the streetsand nestle in downtown publicplaces, their abnormal behav-iors allow us to separate thementally-challenged homelessfrom the traditional homeless,who also wander the streets ofdowntown and nestle in publicplaces.

In September 2007, the Call& Post began a three monthinvestigation of what appears to

be the ever-growing presence ofthe mentally challenged down-town. Our investigationincludes at least 20 hours oftaped interviews with localmental health experts, advo-cates for mental health, man-agers of mental health outpa-tient facilities and communitydrop-in centers, and representa-tives of public safety and thejudicial system. We now pres-ent to the public the results ofour investigation in a three partseries.

Part I describes who thehomeless and mentally chal-lenged are in the downtownarea. They are identified as hav-ing needs distinct from the tra-ditional homeless and homelesssubstance abusers who are alsofound in large numbers in thedowntown area.

Part two examines wherethey come from and why so

many are here. Part three presents what

mental health policy makers aredoing to help them and whatconcerned citizens can do.

However, before identifyingthe homeless and mentally chal-lenged, let us first revisit theacclaimed 1970 best sellingbook, “Future Shock” by AlvinToffler, renowned futurist/soci-ologist. Let us examine if whathe forecasted in 1970 may pro-vide insight into our descriptionof the disproportionately risingnumbers of homeless and men-tally-challenged people, espe-cially Black people, in the cityof Cleveland.

In 1970, Toffler predictedwithin the next few decadesmany individuals will suffer“Future Shock” as a conse-quence of their

(SEE SHOCK/PAGE 6C)

Coping With Mental Illness

Part I: Downtown’s highly visible homeless – who are they, really?

By GILBERT PRICESenior Editor

Well, let’s forget about“inevitability.”

In the afterglow of his earth-shattering victory in the Iowacaucuses, when freshmanIllinois Sen. Barack Obamapolled 39 percent of the vote toJohn Edwards’ 30 percent andHillary Clinton’s 29 percent,Obama told his cheering audi-ence, “the improbable hasdefeated what Washington saidwas inevitable,” meaning thecoronation of Clinton as theDemocratic Party’s presidentialnominee.

Now, it seems that Obamahas the momentum. He has beenrunning strongly in NewHampshire (the NewHampshire primary was heldTuesday night after The CALL& POST went to press), and heis viewed as being a strong con-tender to win the Nevada cau-cuses and the South Carolinaprimary on Jan. 29.

State Sen. Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, a longtime Obamasupporter and a regional direc-tor of his campaign, said thatthe Iowa victory rips up theargument that somehow Obamais not truly an “electable” candi-date.

“I think that it shows thatBarack has a much wideracceptance than peoplethought,” Kearney said. “It

sends a clear message that he isa contender.”

But what will Obama’s vic-tory mean for the Ohio primary,which will be held on March 4?There is some differences ofopinion on that.

Kearney, focusing on thepositive, said, “I believe Ohio isin play” for the primary season.He noted that Obama was thefirst candidate to file for theOhio primary, and Obama rec-ognizes the significance of thestate – particularly in the gener-al election.

But U.S. Rep. StephanieTubbs Jones, D-Cleveland, anational co-chair of the Clintoncampaign, while congratulatingObama on his victory in Iowa,still believes that Ohio is unlike-ly to play a major role in select-ing the party’s nominee – evenwith the uncertainty thatObama’s Iowa victory had cre-ated.

“By the time the Ohio pri-mary gets here, who the nomi-nee will be will be decided,”Tubbs Jones said. Tubbs Jonesbelieves Ohio’s strength will bedemonstrated in the generalelection. “Whether it’s Barackor Hillary, we’ll be able todecide who will be elected inNovember.”

The reality facing Obama,Clinton and Edwards – whocombined received almost 98percent of the Iowa Caucus vote

(SEE OBAMA/PAGE 2A)

Free dentalThe dental clinic at Case

Western Reserve UniversitySchool of Dental Medicine willoffer adults a free dental exam,teeth cleaning and X-rays onSaturday, Jan. 26, from 9 a.m. to2 p.m. The event is organized bythe dental school’s studentcouncil as an annual communityservice project.

No appointment is needed,and walk-ins will be accepteduntil 12:30 p.m. on a first-come,first-served basis. Appointmentslast one to two hours, dependingupon services needed. Selectedpatients may be invited to par-ticipate in additional free dentalcare. Other participants willreceive $10 off the admittingfee for anyone who wishes tobecome a dental clinic patientand receive follow-up care afterthe free dental exam.

The dental students willshow movies while patientswait.

The dental clinic is locatedon Cornell Road at theEmergency Drive at UniversityHospitals of Cleveland, twoblocks south of Euclid Avenue.Call (216) 368-3570 between 11a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.

Probate candidateCuyahoga County Common

Pleas Judge Lillian Greene willhold an evening fundraiser onThursday, Jan. 17, from 5 to 7p.m., at Damiano’s, 75 PublicSquare, in downtown Clevelandfor her campaign for ProbateCourt. The Democrat graduatedfrom Case Western ReserveUniversity Law School in 1976.Cost is $50 per person, with amaximum of $500, and $3,000.Call (216) 381-3708.

What will Obama victory mean for Ohio primary?

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with his wife Michelle and daugh-ters Malia, left, and Sasha, after winning the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses, Thursday,Jan. 3, in Des Moines, Iowa. (STAFF PHOTO BY J. DARWIN HOLLINGSWORTH II)

Appointment part of new direction in crimefighting for 2008

By RUSSELL WALKERStaff Reporter

Cleveland Mayor FrankJackson has appointed EdwardJ. Tomba as the new deputy

chief of the Cleveland PoliceDepartment.

Tomba, who headed thedepartment’s bureau of specialinvestigation, replaces formerDeputy Chief Lester Fults, whowas recently tapped to becomethe Cleveland MunicipalSchool District’s chief of safetyand security.

Tomba is a 22-yearCleveland Police veteran whohas held a number of positionswithin the department, includ-ing Third District commanderand executive assistant to thechief of police.

Jackson described Tomba’slaw enforcement background as“extensive.”

According to Jackson, fill-ing the deputy chief slot was thefirst step in his overall goal ofshifting the city’s focus on howit fights crime in 2008.

When he first came intooffice in 2006, Jackson’s statedgoal as far as city safety wentwas increasing the efficiency ofthe Cleveland Police depart-ment through a series of internalchanges and bridge the riftbetween residents and police.

This year, Jackson said thegoal now is to stop the rampantviolence in the city caused bythe continued influx of drugsand guns.

“We’re putting forth a con-certed effort to stop drugs com-ing into the city of Cleveland,dealing with the organizedcrime activity that bring drugsinto Cleveland, dealing withgang activity in the neighbor-hoods and doing heavy gun sup-pression,” said Jackson.

Although overall crime inthe city was down in 2007, thecity’s murder rate hit a 15-yearhigh of 134 homicides by theend of the year.

According to police figures,a majority of those murderswere gun related. Last year,Cleveland police confiscated1,100 firearms.

In response to the number offirearms that wind up on thestreet, Jackson said that police,with the help of federal lawenforcement agencies, will beintensifying their gun-suppres-sion activities in the neighbor-hoods by cracking down onthose using them.

“Every gun confiscated inthe commission of a crime willbe traced back to where it wasbought and who bought it,” saidJackson. “We’re going to belooking at who we call ‘strawpurchasers’ – people who buyguns for people who cannot buythem legally or they buy guns

(SEE MAYOR/PAGE 2A)

Mayor picks new deputy police chief

By RUSSELL WALKERStaff Reporter

Police have arrested threeCleveland juveniles in connec-tion with the New Year’s Eveassault of a Shaker Heights manout for a walk.

The teens, Jerome Edwards,17, Brandon Goodwin, 16, andan unidentified 14-year-old, areaccused of viciously beating 53-year-old Kevin McDermott.They were arrested by ShakerHeights police Saturday,according to acting Police ChiefScott Lee.

All three teens werearraigned Monday morning inJuvenile Court and remanded tothe county juvenile detention

center by Judge ThomasO’Malley on charges of aggra-vated robbery and feloniousassault. They denied the chargesagainst them.

According to Lee, policecontinue to investigate the inci-dent and expect to make morearrests.

“We are continuing toactively investigate furtherleads and following up on pos-sible other suspects,” said Lee.

According to authorities, theteens were part of a group ofabout seven other juveniles whoallegedly attacked McDermott,a private-practice lawyer,around 6:30 p.m. as he waswalking along East 146th and

(SEE TEENS/PAGE 2A)

Teens arrested in beatingof Shaker Heights man

Huron Hospital welcomed David Seales-Couch as its firstbaby of 2008. Little David weighed in at 7 pounds and 2ounces at 7:04 a.m., on Jan. 1. Showing off the precious

infant is his mother, Tracy Scales.

2008 First Born

A homeless woman finds rest on a bench in donwtownCleveland. (STAFF PHOTO BY MYCHAL LILLY)

This Week CP2 is inside featuring the Iowa Caucuses

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PAGE 6C/THE CALL AND POST/WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008

From Page 1A

inability to quickly adapt to sud-den accelerated change causedby rapid shifts from a manufac-turing culture to an information,high-tech culture. The inabilityto adapt to change too rapidlywill cause many to suffer mentalstress by having to make toomany unexpected decisions.

Future Shock, Tofflerwarned, will likely be the resultof numerous persons diagnosedwith unprecedented physicaland mental health-related ill-nesses by the new millennium.

One example of what maybe a cause of Future Shock inGreater Clevelanders is therecent shift in favor of outsourc-ing American jobs to countriesoverseas. According to PolicyMatters, 44,000 manufacturingjobs alone were lost in GreaterCleveland from November 1999to November 2003.

In turn, unprecedented fami-ly disintegration due to loss ofso many jobs may have been aconsequence causing FutureShock mental health-related ill-nesses. Hopelessness and lowself-esteem, perhaps due to job-lessness, may have also con-tributed to so many adults abus-ing chemical and alcohol sub-stances to cope with realities ofa society passing them by atsuper-sonic speed.

Thus, many of their childrenwho enter the foster care sys-tem, are diagnosed with anxietydisorders and emotional depres-sion, and consequently needprescribed pharmaceuticaldrugs.

Mental health-related symp-toms associated with FutureShock also may be due to theinability of Black leadership tosolve many of the structuraleconomic new problems facingBlack Clevelanders since themillennium. Their failure maybe the cause of too many Blackresidents succumbing to wide-spread suspicion and mistrust ofrole model institutions – likereligious, political, educationand family institutions.

Looking for further evidenceof Future Shock leads us to con-sider recent shocks to the socialsecurity of the underclass poorin Cleveland. We conclude thata major shock, perhaps, is theabrupt dismantling of the wel-fare “social safety net” pro-

grams, which may have causeda lot of psychological uncertain-ty in the wake of so many indi-viduals unable to meet basichuman needs.

Did Black city residents dis-proportionately suffer mentaldisorders due to stress oftenassociated with worrying aboutwhat’s going to happen oncethey lose much needed publicassistance? Did competitionover limited available low-wagejobs (without medical benefits)contribute to their dispropor-tionate mental disorders oftenassociated with schizophrenia,schizoaffective, and bipolar dis-order?

According to Dr. SteveFriedman, executive director ofMental Health Services,“Mental health-related illnessesmay be diagnosed in two dis-tinct categories: 1) medical bio-logical, and 2) other mentalhealth problems. MedicalBiological is defined as neuro-logical disorders caused byschizophrenia, schizoaffective,and bipolar disorder.”

Schizophrenia is a severebrain disease causing hallucina-tions, delusions and paranoia.Schizoaffective is psychoticsymptoms in the absence ofmood changes. Bipolar disorderis extreme mood changes fromvery high energy to extremelows of depression.

“Other mental health prob-lems may be caused by toomuch psychological stress oftenassociated with domestic vio-lence, the loss of employmentand substance abuse,” Friedmansaid. “They affect the individ-

ual’s state of mind even thoughthey are non-neurological dis-eases.”

Having defined FutureShock and its consequences as apossible explanation for somany people with mental healthissues, we now turn to describ-ing who those people are in thecity and county.

Homelessness accompaniedby mental health problems is acountywide problem. CarolynNabakowski of the CuyahogaCounty Office of HomelessServices provided “Point-in-Time” information that classi-fies homelessness by three par-ticular groups when seekingfederal aid for continuing theircare: 1) Severe Mental Illness(SMI), 2) Chronic Substance

Abuse (CSA) and 3) ChronicHomelessness. Regarding sub-stance abuse and associatedhomelessness, CSA alone madeup 50 percent of all countyhomelessness in 2007. SMI andChronic Homeless made up theremaining 50 percent.

Headquartered in downtownCleveland, MHS keeps publicrecords of all registered clientsreceiving mental health servic-es. Figure 1, “Percent of Clientsby Race 2006,” shows thatBlack clients alone make up 51percent of all clients in need ofMHS treatment for mentalhealth services. This is followedby Whites at 46 percent, Asians,2 percent, Latinos, 1 percent,and Native Americans, 1 per-cent.

The disproportionate num-ber of Blacks in need of mentalhealth services is equally dis-turbing when Black males arecompared to Black females. In2007, Black males to femalesmade up 53 percent of MHStotal client population at anaverage 32 to 35 years of age.

In 2004, Black femalesmade up 44 percent of allclients. However, in 2007, theirclient population was 46 per-cent, which suggests the gapbetween rising high rates ofBlack females is closely nar-rowing high client rates ofBlack males. In 2007, Blackfemales averaged 32 years ofage (up from 29 in 2004).

Figures 2 and 3, “MHSClients Needing HomelessAssistance Programs” and“MHS Clients NeedingCrisis/Trauma InterventionPrograms” 2004-2007, identifythe need for services to help thementally challenged and home-less.

For homeless assistance, theneed for services such as casemanagement, outreach andemergency shelter has steadilygrown since 2004. But what isdisturbing is the increase in theneed for crisis and trauma inter-vention programs, which havealso steadily grown.

In 2007, the need for a“Children Who WitnessViolence” program was up by89 percent since 2004; the needfor an adult mobile crisis teamincreased by 92 percent.

Community gang violence,domestic violence and familydisintegration helps to create awidespread need for a “ChildrenWho Witness Violence” pro-gram. Moreover, informationprovided by the CuyahogaCounty Board of Health showsthat suicide is a growing prob-lem for children suffering poormental health. From 1999 to2007, the average age of chil-dren in Cleveland and surround-ing suburbs who committed sui-cide was 14, on a scale of 11 to17 years of age.

Black children make up 12percent of all reported suicidesand White children make up 22percent. When comparing same-race males to females, youngBlack males are reported morelikely to commit suicide, 24 per-cent higher than young Blackfemales. The high rate of youngBlack males killing themselvesis unprecedented in the historyof Black youth in the city.

Regardless of which mental-ly-challenged group we identifydowntown, i.e., children oradults, former Public SafetyDirector William L. Denihan,CEO Cuyahoga CountyCommunity Mental HealthBoard, speaks about public safe-ty.

“Contrary to isolated acts ofviolence involving the mentallyill in downtown, overall thepublic is not in danger,” said

Denihan. “People with mentalillness will commit crimes to getarrested as one way of gettingout of the cold.”

He also discussed how theyare more likely to be victims ofcrime instead of the averagedowntown citizen.

“Women suffering mentalissues are more likely to be

raped and males robbed becausethey have difficulty identifyingsuspects and filing policereports,” he said.

In part two of this report I’llexplain why so many of thementally challenged and home-less are downtown and we showwhere they come from.

Dr. Jeffrey Perkins, Jr., has aPh.D. in Public andInternational Affairs from theUniversity of Pittsburgh. He is aresearch investigator and part-time staff member at MyersUniversity. For responses to thisreport please e-mailjperkins@myers.edu.

Coping With Mental Illness

Part I: Downtown’s highly visible homeless – who are they, really?

One of the hundreds of homeless persons who walk the streetsof downtown Cleveland looking for a place to help keep themwarm.

der it started sprinkling, thenraining, then snowing like crazy.At a point the blizzard got sobad, I finally had to pull over adget a hotel over night.

The next morning I finallygot to Chicago to pick up my16-year-old, Jamel, who wasriding shotgun with me for thejourney into history.

When leaving Chicago, Imissed one turn. It took me twohours to get back on track.

In effect, a trip that usuallytakes 10 hours took more than adog-gone day.

At the end of the process,however, when I finally made itto the Barack Obama victoryrally in Des Moines, they movedme past hundreds of otherreporters and photographersright in front of Obama for thatmasterful victory speech next tophotographers from some of theleading newspapers in the coun-try.

All this because I was deter-mined to get there and get it

done.

I guess all this means that in2008 I am resolved to be highlyproductive through relationshipsthat are, themselves, wonderfulexperiences for myself and oth-ers, by intentionally maximizingthose relationships with greatdetermination to get outstanding

results.And that’s how it is …

according to James.

Contact Hollingsworth at(216) 791-7600, ext. 240, atreligion@call-post.com or bloghim ataccording2james.blogspot.com.

ThreeFrom Page 5B

6CCle1-9-08.qxd 1/8/2008 1:41 PM Page 1

In Part I of Dr. Perkins’ series, which ran in the Jan.9, issue of the Call & Post, the recently released, men-tally challenged ex-offender in Cleveland Heightswho allegedly stopped taking his psychotic medica-tion and was hearing voices, and consequently shotand killed a veteran Cleveland Heights police officer,was a Black male. He was misidentified as a Whitemale in Part I of the series.

PAGE 6B/THE CALL AND POST/WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008

By Dr. JEFFREYPERKINS Jr.

Contributing Writer

Part I of our special reportdescribed who the mentallychallenged and homeless arethat we see so often downtown.Our observations were dis-cussed in the context of “FutureShock,” a concept coined in1970 by futurist/sociologistAlvin Toffler. It was in 1970 thathe predicted many people wouldnot adapt to the acceleratedchange as our society rapidlywent from a manufacturing to ahigh-tech information society.He believed that their failure toadapt would result in manybeing diagnosed with physicaland mental illness related prob-lems.

Our research shows thatsince 2000 the Black poor in thecity of Cleveland are likely can-didates for Future Shock with somany being diagnosed withmental health problems oftenassociated to mental stress dueto long-term unemployment,lack of marketable skills, sub-stance abuse, family disintegra-tion and run-ins with the law.

Where help is available, PartII will identify the locations ofdowntown homeless facilities,

substance abuse counselingfacilities, and facilities provid-ing free breakfast, lunch anddinner. It also illustrates theproximity of these facilities toPublic Square.

Facilities that provide hous-ing shelter to the homeless canbe described by two majortypes, emergency shelters andtransitional housing. For exam-ple, Lutheran MetropolitanMinistries operates a men’semergency shelter located at2100 Lakeside providing 350beds to homeless adult males.

Mental Health Services pro-vides homeless females a 180-bed emergency shelter locatedat East 22nd and Payne Avenue; MHS also provides a 50-bed

emergency shelter for disabledmen located at 1710 Payne Ave.The newly-renovated NorthPoint Transitional HousingCenter was recently opened toprovide double occupancy tran-sitional housing of 160 beds toworking homeless men. NorthPoint’s located at 1550 SuperiorAve.

The Salvation Army HarborLight Complex provides threetransitional housing programs.The Pass program has 75 bedslocated at 1710 Prospect Ave.;the Share program has 32 bedslocated at 22nd and CommunityCollege; and at Railton House,there are 56 beds located at6001 Woodland Ave. Also,Harbor Light operates theZelma George Shelter for

Homeless Women and Children,with 87 beds located at 1710Prospect Ave.

Most emergency and transi-tional homeless shelters havepolicies that require residents toleave during early morninghours. They must leave presum-ably to seek employment, attenddrug and alcohol counseling,vocational or college education.They may return to the sheltersduring select evening hours.

For those with mental prob-lems and unable to work, theyroam the downtown area as thedaytime “visible invisibles”according to Officer LindaSealey of the Cleveland PoliceDepartment.

“We visibly see them down-town yet psychologically wedeny eye contact making them

invisible when we see them inthe library, Terminal Tower,asleep on the steps of theSoldiers and Sailors Monument,and panhandling from street tostreet and corner to corner,”Sealey said.

For non-shelter services,there are numerous facilitiesthat will help them in the down-town area offering drug andalcohol counseling at RecoveryResources, located at 3950Chester Ave., or at MentalHealth Services, 1744 Payne.Breakfast, lunch, and eveningmeals can be obtained at theWilliam Bishop CosgroveCenter, 1736 Superior Ave.; theSalvation Army, 1710 ProspectAve., and Trinity Cathedral,2230 Euclid Ave.

In Part III of our series, men-tal health policy makers, advo-cates and others will discusswhat’s being done to help thementally challenged and home-

less to be independent, get jobtraining and find permanenthousing.

It will show innovations inhousing developments otherthan emergency shelters andtransitional housing with recom-mendations to the public. If ourdowntown is truly to emerge avibrant economically developedrenaissance, do not miss whatthey have to say and especiallytheir recommendations on howthe average citizen can help.

Dr. Jeffrey Perkins Jr., holdsa Ph.D. in public and interna-tional affairs from theUniversity of Pittsburgh. He is aresearch investigator and part-time staff member at MyersUniversity. For responses to thisreport please e-mail him atjperkins@myers.edu or phoneMyers University’s ClevelandHeights Academic Center at(216) 397-0360.

The Empowerment Center of Greater

Cleveland Creating positive outcomes in the lives of people living on low

incomes, since 1966.

Project B.R.E.A.D., A Food Stamp Entitlement Program

The Empowerment Center of Greater Cleveland, formerly The

Welfare Rights Organization, provides advocacy, community

organizing, and programs stimulating personal development of

individuals living with low incomes. One of The Empowerment

Center of Greater Cleveland's major programs is to act as a

contact for individuals in need of food assistance. Funded by and

working in collaboration with the USDA-FNS, Ohio Department

of Jobs and Family Services and Cuyahoga County Department of

Employment and Family Services, The Empowerment Center of

Greater Cleveland manages Project B.R.E.A.D., an outreach

project regarding the Food Stamp Program. Staff from The

Empowerment Center of Greater Cleveland is available to assist

individuals with the process of making applications for Food

Stamp Benefits. To find out more information or to make an

appointment to complete a preliminary application for the Food

Stamp Program, contact The Empowerment Center at 216-432-

4770.

Contact us at:

The Empowerment Center of

Greater Cleveland

3030 Euclid Avenue, Suite #100

Cleveland, Ohio 44115 ------216-432-4770

www.ecgccleveland.org

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Coping With Mental Illness – Future Shock

Part II: Where are the mentally challenged and homeless downtown?

Correction:

6bCle13.qxd 2/12/2008 5:56 PM Page 1

Residency-based treat-ment centers among lat-est options for mentallychallenged homeless

By Dr. JEFFREY PERKINSJr.

Contributing Writer

Part One of our specialreport presented who the men-tally challenged and homelessare in the downtown area byrace, gender and age. Part Twopresented where emergencyshelters, transitional housing,and resource and food facilitiesare located downtown and theirproximity to Public Square.

Statistics in Part Oneshowed how Black city resi-dents disproportionately makeup higher rates of the mentallychallenged and homeless. Therates reported are rising and tomeet their growing needs foremergency shelters, transitionalhousing, and resource facilitiesthe development of these facili-ties has been within walkingdistance to Public Square by atleast a mile or less.

The primary reason we seeso many of them downtownmay be due to the developmentof downtown shelters andresource facilities in close prox-imity to Public Square andhomeless shelter policies thatrequire them to leave the prem-ises during daytime workinghours.

Public Square becomes themost likely alternate place to bebecause of its proximity, which

offers the poor Black, White,Hispanic, etc., have-nots anopportunity to panhandle thehaves for food, alcohol, bustransportation or whatever.

Part Three concludes thisseries by presenting what men-tal health policymakers and oth-ers are doing to help them withrecommendations about howconcerned citizens can help.

Our report begins withMental Health Services forHomeless Persons Inc. (MHS),which provides outpatient treat-

ment services, housing andcounseling, and a 24-hourmobile crisis team. MHSExecutive Director Dr. SteveFriedman recommends down-town businesses and citizenstelephone the Mobile CrisisTeam at (216) 623-6888 whenconfronted by persons who dis-play abnormal behavior, provid-ing the situation is non-threaten-ing.

Otherwise, he advises thatan emergency telephone call beplaced to the police. MHS also

operates a special program tohelp children overcome trau-matic encounters as a result ofwitnessing or being victimizedby violence. More informationabout their programs can befound by contacting MentalHealth Services for HomelessPersons Inc., 1744 Payne Ave.,Cleveland, OH 44114, tele-phone (216) 623-6555, or visitMHS-inc.org.

In addition to the mentalhealth services of MHS, due togrowing demands for local hos-pital emergency psychiatric careSt. Vincent Charity Hospitalannounced the renovation forexpansion of its PsychiatricEmergency Unit. The hospital isone of the few in Ohio thatoffers emergency mental healthcare for anybody in Clevelandand Cuyahoga County needingemergency psychiatric help. Therenovation construction isscheduled for completion thisspring.

The police training acade-my, in partnership with the

Cuyahoga County CommunityMental Health Board, operatesthe Crisis Intervention Team(CIT) training program thatteaches police officers how tointeract with people with mentalillness and provides the toolsneeded to divert nonviolent peo-ple with mental illness fromgoing to jail, when appropriate,to a designated diversion andtreatment point.

According to police officerand academy trainer LindaSealey, “CIT is a program thattrains law enforcers on how tomanage arrests involving peoplewith mental problems. It hasoperated for the past three yearsworking in collaboration withagencies that administer mentalhealth treatment, counseling,and administration of justice.”

Even though CIT is addi-tional academy training that isvoluntary, Sealey said “toencourage and ensure thatpatrolmen receives the addition-al training, Chief of PoliceMichael McGrath offers person-

al incentives designed to moti-vate them to receive the train-ing. One effective method heuses is the personal signing ofeach certificate of programcompletion.”

Regarding what has beendone after arrests when peoplewith mental problems enter thejudicial system, Shaker HeightsMunicipal Judge K.J.Montgomery discussed what’sbeing done to protect their civilrights and civil liberties.

“In the past, they often lin-gered longer than necessary inlocal municipal jails because ofthe difficulty by arresting offi-cers to identify them or thearrestee’s lack of knowledgeobtaining legal counsel,” saidMontgomery. “The CuyahogaCounty Mental Health CourtInitiative grew out of collabora-tions between the County Courtof Common Pleas and suburbancourt partners, in 2002, toensure their legal rights are pro-tected once they are arrested.”

CCMHCI offers legal refer-rals, bond investigation, andmental health jail liaisons.

For public awareness oftheir services and other issuesinvolving the mentally chal-lenged homeless, Montgomeryrecommends that “workshopsbe offered designed to educatethe average citizen on how torecognize symptoms of mentalillness. Workshops in compas-sion training are designed toinstruct the average citizen onhow to interact with consumersof mental health services inorder to diffuse stereotypesabout them.”

For colleges and universi-ties, she recommends that “theyconduct more research into thebridging of three distinct admin-istrations of justice paradigms,i.e., punishment, rehabilitation,and now mental health, which isbecoming more inclusive in thepolicy making process.”

For information aboutCCMHCI contact: CuyahogaCounty Court of CommonPleas, 1200 Ontario St.,Cleveland, OH 44114, tele-phone (216) 443-2170, or goonline to http://cp.cuyahoga-county.us /internet /courtdocs/mhbrochure.pdf

Also, county governmentmanages the Office of HomelessServices which provides a widerange of services to reduce andprevent homelessness and

THE CALLTHE CALL AND POST\WEDNESDAAND POST\WEDNESDAYY, FEBRUAR, FEBRUARYY 27, 2008\P27, 2008\PAGE 7AAGE 7A

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Coping With Mental Illness – Future Shock

Part Three: What are we doing to help?

Participating in the St. Vincent Charity Hospital groundbreaking ceremony are, from left, SisterJudith Ann Karam, CSA, president and CEO, Sisters of Charity Health System, U.S. Rep. DennisKucinich, Theresa Coaxum, Cleveland City Councilmembers Phyllis Cleveland of Ward 5 andAnthony Brancatelli of Ward 12, Charity emergency department Chairman Dr. Thomas Graber,Ward 3 Councilman Zack Reed, County Administrator Dennis Madden, St. Vincent CharityHospital President & CEO Jeffrey S. Jeney, Bob Ivory, Charity psychiatry Chairman LuizRamirez. (STAFF PHOTO BY MYCHAL LILLY)

Jeffrey Perkins, Ph.D., interviews tenants at Emerald Commons.

(SEE COPING/ PAGE 9A)

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THE CALL AND POST\ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008\PAGE 9A

increase access to permanenthousing for low-income home-less persons. Recently in a ven-ture with the city of Cleveland,it opened the North PointTransitional Housing Center,located at 1550 Superior Ave.North Point is part of a $5 mil-lion appropriation to reducehomelessness and provide moresupport services.

Natoya Walker, specialassistant to the mayor for publicaffairs, discussed that since themayor’s election, an integrationof public services to help thehomeless and ex-offenders hasbeen his goal. The recent open-ing of North Point is one of sev-eral proposals designed to help.

However, “North Point isnot an emergency shelter; it istransitional housing set up toaccomplish three major goals: toreduce homelessness, to providea continuum of services includ-ing workforce development, andto providec o m f o r t -able livinga r r a n g e -ments forup to sixm o n t h swhile thew o r k i n gh o m e l e s ssave for anaffordableapartment.”

At the community-basedlevel, community activists inpartnership with communitydevelopment corporations areexperimenting with innovationsand options to provide afford-able housing for the mentallychallenged homeless and dis-abled. Housing First Initiative isgaining momentum in its advo-cacy. In collaboration with EdenInc. (a West Side CDC), hun-dreds of thousands of dollars ingrants, tax credits and govern-ment funding have been raised

to renovate several apartmentsfor them.

According to ExecutiveDirector Kathryn Kazol, Eden’smost crowning achievement is anewly-built apartment complexcalled Emerald Commons onWest 79th and Madison Ave.that opened in December 2006.With 52 efficiency single apart-ment units, residents are notconsidered clients, but tenants,according to Kazol.

“They are tenants eitherdiagnosed with mental healthissues or seriously disabled,”Kazol said. “All were previous-ly homeless and either residingat the men’s or women’s emer-gency shelter downtown.”

Emerald Commons is onlyone of 80 properties of Edendeveloped with onsite mentalhealth care and other necessaryservices, some funded by theCuyahoga County CommunityMental Health Board. PropertyManager Christie Stroh dis-cussed other necessary servicessuch as front desk security andcamera monitoring, and fur-nished single efficiency hous-

ings withpersonalk i t chensand pri-vate bath-rooms.

“ T ohelp newt e n a n t sget startedeach effi-c i e n c yc o m e s

equipped with an array ofsundry items such as towels,kitchen utensils and beddings,”she said. “A walk-in pantry con-tains other sundries such asfood, clothing, and men andwomen hygiene items. There isan exercise room, a computerlab with Internet access, a meet-ing room where tenants discussapartment living, and a smallkitchen for special affairs.Mental Health Services alsoprovides on-site mental healthtreatment and counseling.”

In a roundtable interviewwith several formerly homelesstenants they testified on theeffectiveness of innovativehousing like Emerald Commonsand how it has helped themmentally. Emma Webster dis-cussed her personal safety andthe mental health benefits ofhaving a place like EmeraldCommons.

“I would like to see morepeople on the street living inplaces like Emerald Commons,”she said. “I feel safe here, unlikeat the women’s shelter on 22ndPayne Avenue.”

Tenant Antonio Correa stat-ed how Emerald Commons hashelped him overcome his delu-sions. “Being here cuts downthe chaos on your mind; youdon’t worry as much and don’thave to look behind your back,”he said. “I feel safe and secure,and I no longer hear voices.”

Similar apartments arescheduled to open on the EastSide and south side ofCleveland. The Liberty at St.Clair will open this Februarywith 72 efficiency apartments;and South Pointe Commons iscurrently under construction andwill open 84 efficiency apart-ments in September.

Since this is new for residen-tial neighborhoods, Kazol rec-ommends we “educate the pub-lic to accept new housing devel-opments for the mentally chal-lenged in their neighborhoods.Develop partnerships with localcommunity leaders and estab-lish ‘good neighborhood poli-cies’ for interacting with resi-dential developments exclusive-ly designed for mentally chal-lenged residents.”

Stroh recommends wedevelop “strategies to reach outto local professionals, such aschefs, artists, musicians, andothers in the performing andfine arts, for the purpose ofsoliciting their time as volun-teers. Their volunteer in-kindservices will greatly contributeby setting up workshops in com-munity rooms of the newly

developed housing servicing thementally challenged. Universitystudents are also welcomed. Theoutcomes are expected to con-tribute immensely to the posi-tive mental health and recoveryof residents.”

New initiatives like EmeraldCommons, North PointTransitional Housing and oth-ers, are constantly besieged byfunding concerns of mentalhealth policymakers and advo-cates. William M. Denihan,chief executive officer of theCuyahoga County CommunityMental Health Board, believes“the county and state are gross-ly under-funded and problemscontinue to rise. The publicneeds a proactive solution offunding designed to meet anarray of needs of the mentalhealth mentally challenged con-sumer. Instead, we’re reactivewith most of the money spent onprisons.”

Joan M. Englund, director ofMental Health AdvocacyCoalition, recommends that thestate of Ohio needs to prioritizemental health funding, because“when it comes to funding formental health, Ohio has fallen infunding from 17 to 36 per capi-ta.”

Judith Z. Peters, presidentand CEO of West SideEcumenical Ministry, recom-mends “policymakers come upwith economic solutionsdesigned to close the gapbetween meagerly-earnedincome and the raising costs ofaffordable housing. This willlessen a lot of people’s mentalhealth problems caused byfinancial uncertainties of day-to-day living.”

Michael Baskin, executivedirector of the National Allianceon Mental Illness GreaterCleveland recommends we sup-port the need to “increase fund-ing for additional outpatientservices such as assisted outpa-tient treatment. Mobilize morepublic support for mandatoryassisted outpatient treatment.”

Sandy Stephenson, directorof the Ohio Department ofMental Health recommends aholistic approach to fundingdesigned to “support re-enteringex-offender programs, housingoptions, and pediatrics andhealth care case workers whocan identify (mental health)problems in children while veryyoung in primary school andsecondary high school.”

Finally, if downtownCleveland is to be a viable eco-nomically developed area wemust do something about theever-growing presence of somany homeless, wretched andmentally ill citizens wanderingaimlessly in downtown and inpublic places seemingly withnowhere else to go.

Helen Jones, president and

CEO of Recovery Resources,recommends that the“public/private sector spendmore resources to build up thedowntown district as a vibrantdowntown community with lotsof entertainment, movie showsand restaurants. Currently it isnot!”

Dr. Jeffrey Perkins Jr. holdsa Ph.D. in public and interna-tional affairs from theUniversity of Pittsburgh. He is aresearch investigator and part-time staff member at MyersUniversity. For responses to thisreport please e-mail him atjperkins@myers.edu or phoneMyers University’s ClevelandHeights Academic Center at(216) 397-0360.

CopingFrom Page 7A

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Emerald Commons

A typical room arrangement

Workout room

Computer room

Efficiency kitchen

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