AVENTURERO, from page 10
Street Roots • June 9-15, 2017
News
Page 11
SAKS, from page 10
generally. People coming to see mental
health disorders as brain disorders doesn’t
reduce stigma, but putting a human face
on it does. People coming forward is what
is going to reduce stigma. More people are
doing that. The (Americans with
Disabilities Act) helps. You may know that
the person in the office next to you is
getting accommodations, and you may see
that they’re like you. They value the things
you value. They want friends. They want
romantic relationships. And so on.
E.S.: Prejudice drives it. I think back to
my law school journal article on
mechanical restraints. I was talking with
my professor, who was also a psychiatrist.
I was telling him that restraints are so
painful and humiliating. He said, “Elyn,
you don’t understand, these people are
psychotic.” They don’t expect someone
with psychosis to be as high-functioning.
And I say, “No, we are not different from
you.”
If you make someone an “other,” you
can do things to them that you would not
do to yourself or your family member or
whomever. My closest friend and I had a
client in Connecticut Valley Hospital and
she stopped speaking. She didn’t think
that people wanted to talk to her, she
wouldn’t talk to staff or patents. Totally
mute. But we talked to her every month
on the phone. We knew she could speak.
One day, she was overheard talking about
her legal rights by the medical staff, who
thought that she was talking with
imaginary lawyers.
E.S.: Media is an incredibly powerful
way to do that. And not just journalism,
but TV and movies. That’s where people
get most of their information. The
information can be portrayed in a careful,
sympathetic, and accurate manner. Or it
can be sensationalized by focusing on
violent crime, when the reality is that
people with mental health disorder are not
more likely to commit crimes.
A.W.: The doctors never even considered
A.W.: Is there anything else you would
A.W.: When you talked about sharing
stories, I immediately thought o f the media.
How can journalism better report on stories
related to mental illness and break down
some o f those preconceptions?
the possibility that she could be talking to
real people.
SAFETY, from page 7
will think, ‘I do not want my life taken if I
intervene.’ The bullies are more
empowered now than ever.”
Public transportation, with its close and
contained environment and a diversity of
riders, poses a challenging setting for
confrontation. In addition, aside from the
occasional security guard or fare inspector,
riders often must police themselves and
hope that others will do the same.
TriMet employee Gordon Duncan, who
has been a bus driver for 16 years, told
Street Roots that in the past five to six
years, he’s only seen a security guard one
time. The security guards he speaks of,
GS4, are contracted through TriMet and,
he said, don’t really have the authority to
do anything. They’re like rent-a-cops.”
Duncan said that he and others have
complained about security a number of
times but that there is a “lackadaisical
effort by TriMet” to remedy the situation.
If there is an altercation on the MAX or
on the bus, drivers are not expected to
intervene physically in any way, even if the
harassment and assault is happening to
them. They are expected to press their
police button, but by the time police arrive,
it is often too late and the perpetrator has
already left. Unfortunately, Duncan said,
“driving the bus is not a good environment
to work in. We feel like we have no
backup.”
The Amalgamated Transit Union is
currently in contract negotiations with
TriMet.
TriMet currently has 61 transit police
officers and 15 contracted security
personnel through the company G4S
Security Systems.
TriMet spokesperson Angela Murphy
said TriMet actually funds 68 police
positions, all pulled from community police
bureaus. However, seven of those positions
remain unfilled because local police
bureaus are already short staffed. Murphy
said they have contracted to hire an
additional 10 to 15 G4S officers and have
expedited adding patrols in advance of the
Rose Festival.
Jared Franz, public policy coordinator
with the Amalgamated Transit Union,
which represents TriMet employees, called
the increase a ruse.
“It’s what they would do anyway for
Rose Festival,” he said. “Once it’s over,
they’ll pull the extra. Any increase is
temporary and normal.”
Murphy said that after the Rose
Festival, TriMet will reassess its security
needs.
Even with the additional security, it
doesn’t come close to covering the span of
public transit in the region. On a typical
afternoon, TriMet has about 550 buses and
47 trains in operation.
Transit union board member Anthony
Forrester, who has been a MAX operator
for 14 years, said safety was a concern.
“Harassment is an everyday occurrence
on TriMet, especially for women and
people of color,” he said.
Hajoo agrees.
“This is not something new,” she said.
“Latinos and African-Americans have faced
it and still do; now it’s coming to us. It’s
just a matter of knowing how to be more
effective and organized. It requires
guidance. People need to hear from
authorities so that they are motivated to
stand up for justice.”
Hajoo finds hope in the hearts of people
who have stood up to hate, from raising
more than half a million dollars for the
victims’ families to the outpouring of
support for the two young women who
were assaulted.
“People are asking, ‘How can I help?’
Smile at a Muslim. Makes them feel
welcomed. Our community is so humbled,
and we feel close to PDX for the
community response.”
like to add?
E.S.: I had an experience like that when
I was going to do a radio interview. I was
wearing headphones and there was a
microphone in front of me. They said, “say
a sentence, Elyn, so we can get your
voice.” And I told them, “I’m hearing other
people on these headphones.” They said,
“We don’t hear anyone.” They thought I
was hallucinating.
A.W.: In any other situation, they would
have thought there was some sort o f problem
with the audio equipment.
E.S.: Right, exactly.
A.W.: So what do you think needs to
happen in medical environments to reduce
that stigma?
E.S.: It needs to happen in society
E.S.: One question that I get a lot is
how did I manage to do well given such a
grave prognosis. I want to list the things in
the hope that other people can take
advantage. One is excellent treatment,
both pharmacological and intensive
psychotherapy. (When it comes to
therapy), I’m a lifer. I don’t want to risk
ending it. Second, I have wonderfully
supportive friends and family. That gives
my life a sense of depth. And I also have a
great work environment that is
intellectually stimulating and
accommodating. When I’m writing an
argument or counter-argument, the
psychotic thoughts recede to the sideline.
I’ve come to think that my mind is my best
friend and my worst enemy. It gives me
abilities and motivations and pleasure from
using those abilities.
Did you serve in the
Armed Forces
and are experiencing
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