OCTOBER 4, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
Opinion
HELP: Salem Drop, Youthline
and SafeOregon
(Continued from Page A1)
Caitlin VanWagenen, group coordi-
nator for the Salem Drop. “So every-
body needs support, needs somebody
that they can count on to be their sup-
port system.”
So where can kids turn to when
they’re struggling?
SALEM
DROP
The Salem Drop is not what you
Beware the ‘right-wing media machine’?
By L. BRENT BOZELL III and
TIM GRAHAM
In the fall of 1998, House
Republicans took special counsel
Kenneth Starr’s report on then-
President Bill Clinton’s impeachable
conduct and launched
an
impeachment
inquiry. The media elites
roared in disgust. Then-
NBC host Gwen Ifi ll
quoted an unnamed
(naturally)
House
Judiciary
Committee
member who compared
the Starr report to a terrorist truck
bomb dropped on the Capitol steps.
Keith Olbermann compared mild-
mannered Starr to Heinrich Himmler.
This—and there’s much more of
it—is worth rereading, as CNN media
reporter Oliver Darcy is warning the
public about a “right-wing media
machine” that has demonstrated “zero
willingness to abide by any traditional
rules of engagement.” That shameless
“machine” opposing
President
Trump’s impeachment and removal
is, of course, composed of Fox News,
talk radio, conservative websites and
an “army of trolls” on the internet.
We’re all shameless manure
spreaders in the eyes of CNN (and
its shrinking band of die-hard fans).
“The next few months will test the
power of this right-wing media
machine,” Darcy says. “To succeed, it
will not only have to suspend reality
for its audience, but also feed the
millions who watch, listen, and read
a counter-narrative to fi ll actuality’s
void.” Trump’s survival depends on
this reality-denying machine, Darcy
insists: “If Trump sees support on
Fox or talk radio erode, it would
help shift the tide and
give Republicans wiggle
room to turn on him.”
Darcy, who graduated
from college in 2011, is
perhaps young enough
to have no idea what
the left-wing media
machine—especially
CNN—did to protect and defend
Clinton, his lying in court under oath,
his lying to the public about his affair
with “that woman, Miss Lewinsky”
and his attempts to instruct others
to lie on his behalf. At a recent panel
discussion in New York, Darcy’s
colleague Brian Stelter yelled that
Clinton “was crushed by the media,”
just “destroyed by the press corps!”
Wolf Blitzer should really take
these youngsters out to lunch and
tell them how CNN fi ercely smeared
Clinton’s opponents and denounced
itself for having reported anything
about Clinton’s scandalous behavior.
On Jan. 28, 1998, a week after the
Lewinsky allegations broke, CNN
aired an hourlong special to self-
fl agellate titled “Media Madness?”
Then-host Howard Kurtz rhetorically
beat his breast, lamenting, “There
is something about this story, this
presidency, that has led the media
other
voices
to almost obliterate the standards of
decency that were built up for so
many years.”
Clinton wasn’t indecent; the
media were. In the Trump era, CNN
insists this president is a morally unfi t
tyrant and the media are the heroic
enforcers of fact, oozing integrity in
every article and interview.
Darcy concluded his takedown
by predicting it’s unlikely the major
stars of the right-wing universe will
turn on Trump. For expert analysis,
he enlisted John Ziegler, who used
to defend former Gov. Sarah Palin
from an avalanche of liberal bias. He’s
the perfect CNN guest because now
he’s insulting conservatives by calling
them a cabal of spoiled brats. “The
Trump cult is very much like a child
who believes in Santa Claus,” Ziegler
said, arguing that right-wing media
bursting the Trump bubble would be
“like the Disney Channel telling their
audience there’s no Santa Claus.”
That’s just silly.
It’s easy to portray your opponent
as operating a nefarious “media
machine.” It’s easy to say your opponent
is “weaponizing” information or
specializes in “disinformation.” What’s
hard is to believe the leftist media that
portrays itself as “independent” and
“nonpartisan” and only working to
make “democracy” work. Nobody’s
buying that nonsense, and nobody
should put up with the leftist media’s
duplicity.
(Creators Syndicate)
Oregon’s elections are doing just fi ne
By GENE McINTYRE
Are there any among us
American adults who can say with
a straight face that he or she is non-
partisan about matters
of a political nature or
those having to do with
elections and persons
running for public
offi ce? There may be
people who’ve reached
majority age and remain
uncommitted,
open-
minded and yet open to infl uenced;
however, this writer has yet to meet
them.
Used in its noun form, a partisan
is someone who supports a party, a
cause, or a person. As an adjective, it
describes someone who’s prejudiced,
one-sided or biased in favor of a
particular person or cause. Use of
the word has come up in reference
to Oregon’s secretary of state where
the secretary’s deputy is publicly
advocating for that offi ce to make
the state’s top elections’ watchdog
into a non-partisan position.
At fi rst blush, and
as a faithful follower
of all things political
in Oregon, I’m not
aware, after 50 years of
watching the Oregon
offi ce of secretary of
state and all others,
that we have had a
problem with that offi ce being
anything other than a bastion of
integrity and above-corruption. In
fact, the fi rst Republican elected
to secretary of state in 19 years,
Dennis Richardson, a well-known
conservative Republican, and just
recently deceased, was the epitome
of emulating “the right stuff ” while
on the job.
Over the years there have been
guest
opinion
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complaints, mainly from the losers of
elections, that the secretary of state’s
offi ce was not free of interventions on
behalf of candidates heralding from
their own party. Research on the
subject disclosed that the charge has
never been proven, although human
nature—in all its manifestations—
may never be absent from these
proceedings. Meanwhile, some of
the current concern may have its
origin by way of the state of Georgia
where, during last November’s
election, and thereafter, the
Democrat gubernatorial candidate,
Stacey Abrams, alleged that her
Republican rival, Secretary of State
Brian Kemp, used his position to
win the election and make himself
governor of Georgia.
Applying a hackneyed expression
to make a case for non-partisanship, it
may be worth serious consideration
to ponder, “an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure.” Thereby,
the Oregon legislature would be
asked to make a change so that
any person in future would run
for the Oregon secretary of state
position without declaring political
party affi liation. However, since
our legislators already have plenty
to do, adding another distraction,
perhaps one that’s viewed by many
Oregonians as superfl uous, may be
ill-advised.
Whatever the outcome, this
change would seem to be window
dressing or irrelevant-to-real-need
since it’s simply diffi cult, if not
impossible, to fi nd an Oregonian
old enough to vote who’s without
closely-held views. Determining
validity in cases under scrutiny
could also be tough to verify. What
we have had and must continue to
demand in future is that our Oregon
offi ce holders abide by their oath
of offi ce and do what’s applicably
lawful, behaviors our secretaries of
state have duly practiced over the
years.
(Gene H. McIntyre shares his
opinion regularly in the Keizertimes.)
Weyland said.
This environment, she said, “defi -
nitely changed the way I support other
people. I’m much more hopeful now,”
she said. “And I think it’s easier to give
other people hope.”
That’s something the YouthLine
volunteers emphasize: there’s no shame
in asking for help, regardless of what
kind of help they need. Calls range in
topic from romantic woes to suicidal
thoughts. And the YouthLine volun-
teers are trained not only to listen, but
also to advise callers on coping skills
and self-care techniques. These behav-
iors are important for youth to develop
as early as possible, Weyland said.
“Yes, this person is 13 and reach-
ing out to us because of a crush, but
if they aren’t supported with that, and
they don’t learn how to cope with that,
how are they going to cope with their
fi rst breakup? With their divorce in
30 years?” Weyland asked, rhetorically.
“How are they ever going to get out
of the unhealthy coping mechanisms
that we naturally create if there’s never
a starting point?”
The YouthLine can be that start-
ing point. “We’re helping teens learn
help-seeking behaviors and we’re
helping them learn healthy coping
mechanisms,” Weyland said.
The YouthLine is staffed by young
volunteers every day between 4 p.m.
and 10 p.m. All other times of day and
night, adults answer calls.
Call: 877.968.8491
Text: teen2teen to 839863
Online chat: oregonyouthline.org.
think it is. If a passerby peered through
the cartoon-festooned glass windows
that look out onto State Street, they
would see a TV and video game con-
sole, a pool table, a bank of computers
and set of 3-D printers. A cafe setup in
the back serves up snacks and drinks.
The Salem Drop is a community
center - hence the fun stuff - but it’s
also an entry point to connect stu-
dents with the Drop’s peer support
specialists, trained 20-somethings who
can help young people ages 14 to 25
navigate adolescent and early adult
struggles - everything from creating a
resume to making a professional phone
call to providing a safe space to vent.
Emily Bogan, a McNary junior,
comes to the Drop a couple times a
week during the school year. She dis-
covered it soon after it opened a year
ago.
“I initially thought, this is a cool
place. And I came in and then the staff
are super supportive,” Bogan said. From
the get-go, the Drop staff told her if
she needed anything, “‘We’re here for
you.’ So I started talking to them and
they really helped,” Bogan said.
The “Drop model,” as the center’s
parent organization Youth ERA calls
it, is effective because there’s no stig-
For students who witness their
ma for a young person to come to the friends or classmates going through
community center and play a round of mental health struggles, there’s also an
pool, and then maybe stick around to outlet to try to get help: the SafeOre-
chat about a problem they’re having.
gon Tip Line.
While the Drop’s peer support
The tip line - which receives tips
specialists are not clinicians, they are from students via call, text, email,
trained in supporting youth who are mobile app or the SafeOregon web
struggling and can help them get con- portal - is designed as a safe place to
nected with the resources they need. report safety threats, bullying (online
When a young person gets offi cially or in person), harassment, but also stu-
connected with Drop staff, they meet dents who may be suicidal or at risk of
them about every other week to talk harming themselves.
and fi nd out what the youth’s needs
“There wasn’t really an avenue for
are.
students to report things they were
Sometimes, the Drop staff says, worried about with their friends, and
that’s helping a young person make a have an adult take a look at it,” said
call to their insurance
Dominique Millette,
to see if they can make
a data analyst for the
a doctor’s appointment
SafeOregon line.
or referring them to
The tip line is not
other community ser-
only for students, but
vices that could be use-
also school staff who
ful. Other times, that’s
may have the knowl-
handing them a bag of
edge and resources to
Cheetos and beating
help but aren’t told
them in a game of pool.
about student con-
“Us not coming
cerns.
across directly as like
“We’ve heard this
a mental health orga-
from a lot of adminis-
On Page A6 trators that they nor-
nization gets everyone
to come in and reduce
mally wouldn’t get
the stigma surrounding
[this type of infor-
mental illness, to get them to feel like mation] about their students, because
they have people who they’re connect- we’re allowing students to be the ears
ed to,” VanWagenen said.
and eyes when we can’t be as adults,”
To fi nd out more about Salem Drop Millette said. “So they’re giving us in-
visit www.youthera.org/salem-drop or formation and then it allows the adults
swing by 246 State Street, Salem, OR to do the investigative piece, see how
97301.
they can help and then provide …
whatever is needed at that point.”
The tip form asks for information
including the school associated with
Prior to volunteering at the Youth- the incident, details surrounding the
Line, 19-year-old Sophie Rupp want- incident and the names of those who
ed to help her peers. But sometimes may be doing harm or being harmed.
her approach wasn’t as helpful as she Those who report a tip have the op-
thought.
tion to remain anonymous.
“When someone tells you they’re
Once a student leaves a tip, staff
suffering, the instinct is to jump in, at SafeOregon will alert the school
give advice and help in any way, to fi x involved with the incident, and the
their problem,” Rupp said.
school then takes action on the tip.
That was until she started volun- If the matter is really urgent - as in
teering at the YouthLine as one of the there’s an active threat to someone’s
Portland-based crisis line’s peer oper- health - the SafeOregon staff will refer
ators. After the 63 hours of training the tip to law enforcement. According
Rupp received - the training includes to SafeOregon, 77 percent of their tips
role-playing caller situations, listening get referred to the schools.
in on sessions, and certifi cations in
Since the tip line launched in Janu-
mental health fi rst aid, suicide iden- ary 2017, it has received thousands of
tifi cation, and suicide intervention, tips, many related to suicide, self-harm
among other trainings - she realized and depression. Suicide threats report-
that the ‘jump in and fi x it’ method ed by someone other than the suicidal
wasn’t the right approach for people person ranked as the third largest tip
struggling with their mental health.
category, behind bullying and drug
“The training shows that that’s not concerns.
what most people need, they need to
SafeOregon’s annual report holds
sit in the muck and sit in that space,” up the example of a case in Hermiston,
she said. “We can just say that really Ore., where a concerned young per-
sucks and they’ll say ‘yes it does suck’ son alerted the line after receiving text
and ‘thank you for listening to me.’”
messages from a friend about their in-
Sheherazade Weyland, 18, also vol- tent to kill themselves. The line called
unteers at the YouthLine. As someone local police, who found the teen un-
who has struggled with anxiety and conscious, but were able to revive him
other mental health problems herself, and get him to the hospital in time to
she knows how diffi cult it can be to avoid his death.
reach out for help. But being in such a
“In terms of success, we’ve already
mental health-conscious environment, saved lives. We’ve helped students get
she said, has made her better able to mental health services, we’ve helped
cope with her own condition.
in child abuse situations,” Millette said.
One of her favorite parts of her shift “We feel like it’s been an extremely
is the pre-shift huddle, where one of successful program.”
the adult supervisors gives the volun-
There are multiple ways to report a
teers a space to vent and share how tip to SafeOregon.
they’re feeling.
Online: Visit app.safeoregon.com
“You weren’t going to be treated
App: Download the SafeOregon
differently because you were strug- app via iTunes or Google Play
gling, but you were going to get some
Phone: Text or call 844-472-3367
support within that huddle, and then
Email: Send a message to tip@
we’d all go off and get back to work,” safeoregon.com
SAFEOREGON TIP LINE
ADULTS: Find
out how you
can support
struggling
teens through
NAMI
YOUTHLINE