Letter to editor: State should restore mental health funding

Most mentally ill people aren't violent, but the Tucson shootings remind us that it isn't a good time to slash treatment funding.

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Ashli Blow

Ashli Blow Feb 6, 2018

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Letter to editor: State should restore mental health funding</h1>
                <h2><p>Most mentally ill people aren't violent, but the Tucson shootings remind us that it isn't a good time to slash treatment funding.</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/ashli-blow/">Ashli Blow</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Most mentally ill people aren't violent, but the Tucson shootings remind us that it isn't a good time to slash treatment funding.</p><p>In the wake of the tragedy in Tucson, is this really the time for  Washington state to slash funding for the mentally ill? As of January  2011, many mentally ill people in our state have lost access to  medications and psychiatric services.</p><p>While it is true that many  mentally ill people are not violent, the combination of no medication  and paranoid or delusional thinking can, indeed, result in the kind of  behavior we saw in Tucson.</p><p>Please, I appeal to the public, the governor,  and the legislature not to let this happen. Restore funding for these  most disturbed and vulnerable citizens.</p>
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Most mentally ill people aren't violent, but the Tucson shootings remind us that it isn't a good time to slash treatment funding.

In the wake of the tragedy in Tucson, is this really the time for Washington state to slash funding for the mentally ill? As of January 2011, many mentally ill people in our state have lost access to medications and psychiatric services.

While it is true that many mentally ill people are not violent, the combination of no medication and paranoid or delusional thinking can, indeed, result in the kind of behavior we saw in Tucson.

Please, I appeal to the public, the governor, and the legislature not to let this happen. Restore funding for these most disturbed and vulnerable citizens.

By Ashli Blow

Ashli Blow is a Seattle-based freelance writer who talks with people — in places from urban watersheds to remote wildernesses — about the environment around them. She’s been working in journal