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Get the Discussion Going
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W hen I was in college, I had this
great professor whom I really I ad
mired. He had a saying that went
“Values are caught, not taught.”
With apologies to my form er
teacher, I think the m antra only
partially applies toou rch ild ren and
the use o f alcohol. A lcohol use
am ong O regon’s youth is on the
rise, according to a state survey o f
more than 18,(XX) students.
T eaching children and teens
about the dangers o f alcohol use
does include som e talking. It’s not
alw ays an easy conversation to
begin but the payoffs o f early pa
rental intervention are enorm ous.
A s y o u r c h ild re n p ro g re s s
through the school years, dealing
with peer pressure, academ ic stress
and social challenges, you will have
already established a sense o f val
ues to help them when faced with
the tough decisions and tem pta
tions.
Even years down the road when
your children are not under your
roof 24 hours, the m essages you
instill in them early on will influence
their choices later.
As a parent, I feel fortunate that
my children had a good set o f val
ues before they left for college. I
know that there are some individu
als who will never touch alcohol.
Others, how ever, may find them
selves going down a path they know
is not right for them. A gain, it is
early, consistent and frequent m od
eling and messaging that will get
them back on course.
You don’t need a formal forum to
g et the d iscu ssio n going. Find
som ething that you and your child
enjoy doing together - jogging,
rollerblading, cycling. Talking with
them during these relaxed times will
not only help to keep the lines of
com m unication open, but studies
also show that children who have
close bonds to their families are
less likely to use alcohol.
Research show s that children
who start drinking before age 15 are
Research shows
that children who
start drinking before
age 15 are four
times more likely to
become alcoholics
than those who start
at 21.
>
four tim es more likely to become
alcoholics than those who start at
21. D o n ’t w ait until your children
are in ju n io r high school to talk to
them about the dangers o f alcohol.
Set the rules early.
Be an example: If you have a rule
ab o u t d ru n k d riv in g , and you
should, make sure not to drive when
you ’ ve been drinking or get in a car
with som eone w ho has. Children
notice when their parents say one
thing and do another.
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4
Robert E. Nikkei is the admin
istrator o f the Office o f Mental
Health and Addiction Services in
the Oregon Department o f Human
Services.
I ■■■ ■■■■
■ M M M M M N M
Presents fo r your h ealth ,
WeOness Within REACH Activity Calendar
Recognize good behavior: E m
phasize the things your children do
right instead o f focusing on w hat’s
wrong. W hen parents are quicker
to praise than to criticize, children
learn to feel good about themselves,
and they develop the self-confi
dence to trust their own judgm ent.
Be specific: Tell your children
the rule and what behavior you
expect. F orexam ple.youcouldsay,
“The law says that you have to be
21 to drink. O ur family follow s the
law.”
D evelop consequences: If your
children are old enough, they can
help suggest appropriate and rea
sonable consequences. It may help
to write up a list o f rules and conse
quences for breaking each rule.
B econsistent: B esu rey o u reh il-
dren understand that the rules are
m aintained at all times, and that the
ru le s h o ld tru e ev en at o th e r
people’s houses. Tell your chil
dren that if they are at a party where
alcohol or illegal drugs are being
used, they can call you for a ride
home.
T h at co lle g e p ro fe sso r w ho
talked about values being “caught,
not taught” was right about a lot of
things. But the harmful lifetime con
sequences o f alcohol are so great,
we parents have to ensure our kids
are “taught.”
Prisons: Our Primary
Mental Health Facility
by
B ernice P owell J ackson
In the 19th century many m en the rate o f mental illness in our
tally ill patients were locked up in natio n 's prison population is three
theirhom esby familiesembarrassed tim es higher than in the general
by th eir co n d u ct and ig n o ran t population.
about the illness. But with more
The fact that so many mentally ill
medical know ledge about the na persons are incarcerated can be
ture o f mental illness, this was seen traced directly to our underfunded,
as barbaric and mental hospitals disorganized and fragm ented com
were created to care for these pa m unity m ental health services.
tients.
W hen state and local governm ents
As problem s surfaced with these shut dow n the large mental health
mental hospitals in the latter half of facilities in the latter part o f the 20th
the 2(Xh century, many were closed century, many people with mental
with the understanding that com illness, especially those w ho are
munity treatm ent facilities would poor, w ithout health insurance,
be put in place for their form er pa hom eless and with substance abuse
tients. But these com m unity-based problem s, were left w ithout any
basis, which prison hospitals or
guards are not able to provide, thus
ensuring that m entally ill prisoners
will deteriorate while they are incar
c e ra te d . A lth o u g h m any sta te
prison mental health services have
im proved o ver the past tw o d e
cades, the alarm ing rise in the num
ber o f m entally ill prisoners at the
same tim e as decreasing state bud
gets has m eant that the m uch-
needed services for these prison
ers often have not been available.
Now federal legislation is being
proposed by Senator Mike DeW ine,
R -O hio and C o n g ressm an T ed
Strickland, D -O hio w hich w ould
provide federal grants to divert
mentally ill offenders into treatment
program s rather than jail or prison
and to im prove the quality o f m en
tal health services inside our pris
ons andjails. Called the Mentally III
O ffender Treatm ent and Cri me Re
duction Act, it begins to address
services w ere never adequately m ental health services.
som e o f the problem s highlighted
funded so today instead o f locking
The Human Rights W atch re in the H um an Rights W atch report.
our mentally ill up in our hom es, it port is based on tw o years o f re
O ur nation’s prisons were never
seems we have opted to lock them search and hundreds o f interviews designed to be our primary mental
in prisons and jails.
with prisoners, corrections officials, health facility. Unless we do som e
Indeed, according to a recent mental health experts and attorneys. thing about this, we are no better
study by Human Rights W atch, It tells o f prisoners who rant, rave, than our 19th century ancestors
one in six U.S. prisoners is mentally babble incoherently, talk with in w ho locked up their m entally ill in
i 11. In fact, there are three t i mes more visible com panions, beat their heads th eir attics and b asem ents and
mentally ill persons in U.S. prisons againstcell w alls.cover themselves threw aw ay the key. In fact, w e are
than in mental health hospitals. And with feces, mutilate themselves and worse because we better under
those numbers do not include m en attem pt suicide. In m any instances stand the nature of mental illness.
tally ill persons w ho are in ja ils or these prisoners find it difficult, if W e are worse because we have
juvenile detention facilities. “Pris not impossible, to follow prison chosen to incarcerate our mentally
ons have becom e the natio n 's pri rules and then are punished for ill and thereby d o n ’t have to care
mary mental health facilities," said their behavior.
for these m entally ill persons our
Jamie Fellner, director o f Human
M oreover, corrections officials selves.
Rights W atch's U.S. program. They are being required to provide m en
Bernice Powell Jackson is ex
estim ate that there are betw een tal health facilities w hich they just ecutive minister fo r Justice and
200.000and 300,(XX)mentally ill pris are not equipped to do. M any pa Witness Ministries in the United
oners in U.S. prisons. M oreover. tients need m edication on a regular Church o f Christ.
The fact that so many mentally ill
persons are incarcerated can be
traced directly to our underfunded,
disorganized and fragmented
community mental health services. <
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