When a man in the grip of psychosis sits outside a local grocery store, cursing at invisible enemies, is the answer really just a sandwich, a bottle of water, and a quiet patio? Or does the problem run far deeper—into policies that hand out the tools of addiction and call it compassion? This reality check shows why one candidate for county commissioner is making public safety the non-negotiable foundation for everything else.
This week, Clallam County Watchdog is on a temporary hiatus while volunteering at the Jake Seegers for Commissioner booth at the Clallam County Fair. Stop by today through Sunday and say hi to Jake and Jeff near the Yellow Gate (West Entrance).
At a February 17 Board of Health meeting earlier this year (timestamp 33:40), Health Officer Allison Berry stated:
“When you see someone on the street who’s shouting at somebody who doesn’t appear to be there, often the solution to that is not jail. It’s a sandwich and a water and a quiet place to be.”
Now look at this video (contains explicit language).
A man appears to be in the midst of a psychotic episode, likely caused or intensified by drug use. He is cursing and sitting outside a local small-business grocery store. He is eating something (whether it is a sandwich is unknown). He has a quiet place to be—a patio outside a boutique grocery store. Yet he is still experiencing a mental breakdown.
Is the missing piece simply a bottle of water? Or is the deeper issue that he lives in a county whose Health Officer will place foil, needles, crack pipes, and “boofing” kits in his hands and encourage him to return to the woods to continue using the illicit street drugs that trap him in addiction?
Harm reduction, in practice, has become harm expansion. This person is not getting better. Our community is not getting better.
The County’s Harm Reduction Health Center receives more than half a million dollars in funding each year. It carefully tracks inputs—how many needles were distributed, how many meth pipes were handed out, how many snorting kits were given to people trapped in active addiction. Yet the health department does not measure outcomes: how many people entered treatment, how many transitioned into recovery, or how many returned to the workforce.
Over half a million dollars spent, and we have no idea whether it is producing any positive effect at all.
In the race for county commissioner, one candidate—Jake Seegers—states clearly that public safety is the cornerstone for everything else, including economic development. He argues that if a business is going to invest time and money, build here, generate taxes, and create jobs, it must know that local government will act as a partner and protect that investment.
Who would want to walk past someone in the grip of this kind of psychosis and still frequent this small grocery store? Who would feel comfortable purchasing food and a soft drink and enjoying it on that patio? Who would feel safe?
In 74 days you will make that choice. You will decide whether this county will be a genuine partner in protecting the investments of local businesses—or a tax-consuming bystander that sits on the sidelines while businesses and business owners close their doors and move to places where local governments actually value and protect them.