I'm a University of Washington affiliate assistant professor and West Seattle resident who worked for 33 years in community mental health, including successfully developing many housing programs here in West Seattle that are similar to the Sound Mental Health project that the Sunrise Heights neighborhood objected to.

I've attended a number of meetings with neighbors of other projects like this who always voiced the same concerns: there are children living in the neighborhood, schools, playgrounds, etc., which neighbors believe makes it impossible for people who have mental illnesses to successfully live there. The reality is that the vast majority of people who have a mental illness, especially those in active treatment, pose no threat to children and are not a "hazard to the community." Apparently, the Sound Mental Health program would have screened out anybody who had committed a sex crime or violent offense, and offered intensive supervision to make sure that clients remained stable.

The reality is that whether we know it or not, we all have neighbors living close by who have a mental illness and/or substance abuse problems. Excluding those whose mental illness and substance abuse is identified does nothing to eliminate mental illness and substance abuse from our neighborhoods. In fact, by continuing to oppose successful, well screened, and well supervised programs like the one that Sound Mental Health proposed, we perpetuate myths about mental illness that lead to further discrimination and prejudice, and a lack of decent affordable housing for these people. Neighbors of the housing programs I developed found the people living in them to be good neighbors.

I understand that the general population has little accurate information about mental illness and successful programs that help people with mental illness become contributing members of our neighborhoods. At times like this, it is critically important for us to become better educated about mental illness myths and successful programs so that we can decrease prejudice and discrimination. After all, we all have family members, friends, and co-workers who have a mental illness and/or substance abuse problem and need a good home and neighborhood to live in here in West Seattle.

Perry Wien

West Seattle