WITH US MONDAY MORNING AT LOCAL 4, THEN STREAMING AT SEVEN AM ON LOCAL 4 PLUS. WELCOME BACK
EVERYBODY. A LACK OF AVAILABLE
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES IS BEING
BLAMED FOR SUCH A WIDE RANGE OF
PROBLEMS IN OUR SOCIETY RIGHT
NOW FROM MASS SHOOTINGS TO
VIOLENT POLICING OUTCOMES TO
CHILDREN FALLING BEHIND DURING
THE PANDEMIC, AND TO TALK WITH
ME MORE ABOUT ALL OF THIS IS
ERIC DOHA, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF
THE DETROIT WAYNE INTEGRATED
HEALTH NETWORK. THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR JOINING ME. OH IT’S MY
PLEASURE, RHONDA. THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR HAVING ME. SO LET’S
FIRST TALK ABOUT THIS FACILITY
AND THE PROGRAMS THAT IT OFFERS.
OKAY EXCELLENT. WELL, YOU KNOW,
JUNE 22ND, WE WILL BE BREAKING
GROUND ON OUR NEW CARE CENTER.
WHICH IS OUR CRISIS CENTER. YOU
KNOW, JUST AS YOU SAID THE
PANDEMIC HAS EXACERBATED A LOT
THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE. BUT
ONE THING THAT WE’VE REALIZED
IT’S THE FACT THAT IN WAYNE
COUNTY WE DON’T REALLY HAVE A
CRISIS FACILITY. I MEAN, WE HAVE
GREAT PROVIDERS WHO WE’VE BEEN
ABLE TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, TO
BE ABLE TO PROVIDE CRISIS
SERVICES BUT TO HAVE A FACILITY
OF OUR OWN HERE FOR OUR CITIZENS
OF 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE IS SUCH A
BIG DEAL. AND WHEN YOU THINK OF
ALL THE FOLKS WHO CAN TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THAT PARTICULAR
RESOURCE, WE ARE CERTAINLY HAPPY
AND GLAD THAT WE CAN DO SO AT
THIS PARTICULAR TIME IN WAYNE
COUNTY. CAN YOU GIVE US AN
EXAMPLE WHEN WE SEE A CRISIS
FACILITIES, SO WHAT SITUATIONS
COULD BE GOING ON WITH SOMEONE
THAT THEY WOULD END UP THERE OR
BE RECOMMENDED TO GO THERE? WHAT
A WONDERFUL QUESTION. LOOK YOU
KNOW, WE ALL HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE,
URGENT CARE CENTERS WITHIN OUR
DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES. AND WE DO
BECAUSE WE FIGURED THAT ONE DAY
YOU KNOW, ONE OF US MYSELF WILL
BE IN THAT KITCHEN COOKING AND
WE’RE BOUND TO CUT OURSELVES OR
SOMETHING. THEY HAPPEN THAT MAY
NOT REQUIRE US TO GO TO THE
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT BUT WILL
REQUIRE SOME TYPE OF ASSISTANCE.
SO WHEN YOU THINK OF MENTAL
HEALTH CRISIS, YOU KNOW, THINK
ABOUT THOSE IMPACT FOR TIMES
THAT YOU COME UPON WHETHER IT’S
THE LOST OF A LOVED ONE OR
SOMETHING THAT JUST COMPLETELY
SHAKES YOUR FOUNDATION, AND YOU
JUST NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO
SOMEONE TO CONNECT A WHIP. AND
MANY TIMES WE FIND THAT OUR
FAMILIES TAKE OUR FAMILY MEMBERS
, PERHAPS TO THE EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENT, OR SOMETIMES WHEN
THEY ARE JUST AT THEIR WITS END
. THEY CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
THEN POLICE COME IN. AND THE
NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THESE
PERSONS ARE TAKEN. YOU KNOW, OUR
FAMILY MEMBERS ARE TAKING, YOU
KNOW, TO JAIL OR SOMETIMES BACK
TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT.
THOSE PLACES THE GREAT WORK THAT
THEY DO. THEY’RE NOT EQUIPPED TO
PERFORM CRISIS SERVICES AND SO
HAVING THIS RESOURCE IN WAYNE
COUNTY WELL, DEFINITELY
ALLEVIATE. YOU KNOW, SOME OF
THOSE PRESSURE POINTS THAT THOSE
ORGANIZATIONS OUR HOSPITALS AND
OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS
FACE ON A DAILY BASIS, HEARD
CERTAINLY FROM INDIVIDUALS THAT
KNOW PEOPLE THAT HAVE TAKEN
SOMEONE IN CRISIS TO AN
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT LIKE THIS
WITH A MENTAL ISSUE WHERE
THEY’RE LIKE THERE’S NOTHING WE
CAN DO SO THIS OBVIOUSLY IS
GOING TO BE VERY IMPACTFUL TO
THE CITIZENS IN WAYNE COUNTY,
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEAR A
LOT WITH THIS PROBLEM WITH MASS
SHOOTINGS AS OUR COUNTRY IS THIS
CORRELATION BEING MADE THAT IT’S
A MENTAL HLTH ISSUE THAT IS
CAUSING THIS? WHAT ARE YOUR
THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT? DO YOU
APPRECIATE THAT? THERE’S MORE
AWARENESS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH,
OR IS IT KIND OF A SCAPEGOAT AND
THAT’S NOT REALLY THE ISSUE.
LOOK I TEND TO LANE MORE TOWARDS
THE FARMER, AND I THINK YOU KNOW
IF WE’VE BEEN BEING REALISTIC
HERE, AND WE LOOK AT THE CRIME
THAT HAPPENED EACH AND EVERY DAY
, YOU KNOW, GUN VIOLENCE, THOSE
VIOLENCE AND VIOLENT CRIMES ARE
NOT PERPETRATED BY FOLKS WITH
MANY OF THEM WITH MENTAL HEALTH
CHALLENGES. I MEAN, I’M A FORMER
PROSECUTOR FROM THE COUNTY LEVEL
ALL THE WAY TO THE FEDERAL
LEVEL, AND I CAN TELL YOU WHAT I
FACE EACH AND EVERY DAY IN THOSE
COURTROOMS. NEVERTHELESS THOUGH
, WE DO HAVE FOLKS WHO HAVE
MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, AND I
AND I THINK WITH YOU KNOW WHAT
EXISTS RIGHT NOW, IN TERMS OF
ACCESSIBILITY THAT FOLKS HAVE TO
WEAPONS, YOU KNOW ACCESSIBILITY
THAT FOLKS HAVE TO CERTAIN
FIREARMS. THEY SOON BE, YOU
KNOW, ABLE TO SO FREELY GET
THOSE FIREARMS AND SO I THINK WE
NEED TO LOOK AT THIS FROM A
NUMBER OF PERSPECTIVE AND NOT
MAKE THIS A BLAME GAME BUT
RATHER GET FOLKS AT THE TABLE TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO AS A
COMMUNITY TO KEEP OUR CHILDREN
SAFE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU
CONSIDER EFFECT RHONDA WALKER
TALKING ABOUT OUR KIDS GOING TO
WHAT WE USED TO CONSIDER ONE OF
THE SAFEST PLACES, WHICH IS OUR
SCHOOLS. AND SO I THINK YOU KNOW
FOR US TO PLAY THAT BLAME GAME.
TRULY IS JUST KICKING THAT CAN
DOWN THE ROAD AND I THINK WITH
ALL OF THE SMART PEOPLE THAT WE
HAVE, WE CAN CERTAINLY GET
TOGETHER AND DO A WHOLE LOT MORE
YOU KNOW TO, UH, COME UP WITH
SOME GREAT SOLUTIONS TO DEAL
WITH, UH, WITH GUN VIOLENCE.
WELL, YOU CERTAINLY HAVE A
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE. BEING A
FORMER COUNTY PROSECUTOR AND THE
FEDERAL ENVIRONMENT AS WELL. DO
YOU THINK RIGHT NOW WE ARE
DEALING WITH MORE MENTAL HEALTH
PROBLEMS. MORE PEOPLE DEALING
WITH MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES,
OR IS THERE JUST MORE AWARENESS?
I THINK IT’S MORE OF AN
AWARENESS THAT EXISTS, BUT, YOU
KNOW, LET’S NOT FORGET THAT THE
YOU KNOW THE IMPORTANCE THAT
COVID HAS PLAYED IN IN CERTAINLY
CHANGING OUR PERSPECTIVE AND HOW
WE VIEW THINGS. I MEAN, LOOK FOR
SOME TWO PLUS YEARS, RONALD, WE
WEREN’T CONNECTING WITH EACH
OTHER. THE WAY WE WERE USED TO.
OUR KIDS WERE LEARNING REMOTELY
. SOME OF OUR KIDS DIDN’T EVEN
HAVE ACCESS TO RESOURCES. YOU
KNOW, SOME OF OUR KIDS SEEN. WE
HAVE ACCESS, YOU KNOW, TO
TECHNOLOGY. AND SO YOU
EXACERBATE THAT WITH YOU KNOW,
UH, HELP SYSTEM THAT CERTAINLY
HAS DISPARITY WITHIN THERE YOU
ARE NOW ADDING TO PROBLEMS THAT
HAVE ALREADY EXISTED AND LET’S
NOT FORGET SOME ECONOMIC
CONDITIONS THAT ALSO PLAYED AN
IMPORTANT ROLE TO HOUSING
TRANSPORTATION. THESE ARE ALL
THINGS THAT SOMETIMES GET FOLKS
SO FRUSTRATED AND WHEN THOSE
THINGS BUILD UP. AND YOU HAVE
YOU KNOW WHETHER THEY’RE MASS
SHOOTINGS, WHETHER THEY ARE YOU
KNOW THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING
WITHIN OUR SOCIETY WITHIN OUR
COMMUNITIES. IT’S JUST IT JUST
BECOMES MORE APPARENT AND LET’S
NOT FORGET TO WHEN YOU HAVE
PROMINENT ATHLETES, YOU KNOW,
FOLKS WHO WE LOOK UPON AS BEING
UNTOUCHABLE AND SO GREAT NAOMI
AKASAKA, FOR EXAMPLE, TALKING
ABOUT HER MENTAL HEALTH
CHALLENGES. IT BRINGS TO LIGHT
THAT FOLKS ARE NOT ALONE THAT
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WE HAVE
COME TO SEE BIGGER THAN LIFE WHO
EXPERIENCED THESE CHALLENGES AS
WELL. NAOMI OSAKA AND MANY OTHER
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES AND ACTORS
TALKING ABOUT DEALING WITH
ANXIETY AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH
CHALLENGES ARE CERTAINLY RAISED
A SPOTLIGHT AND IMPORTANT
BECAUSE IT ENABLES PEOPLE TO
SEEK HELP. WHERE MAYBE THEY
WOULD NOT HAVE OTHERWISE. SO
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BROWN
BREAKING THAT’S COMING UP A
LITTLE BIT LATER THIS MONTH FOR
THE DETROIT WAYNE INTEGRATED
HEALTH NETWORK, AND THANK YOU SO