Ignorance and arrogance are an embarrassing – and potentially dangerous – combination
To the Editor,
First, the Klickitat Co. Sheriff stigmatized homelessness and drug addiction as something that is a voluntary choice and a moral deficit.
The facts are that most often people experience homelessness when all other options have been exhausted, or they are dealing with difficult circumstances that make it hard to retain housing. One of these is drug addiction – which is a disease. The most widely abused drugs are tobacco products and alcohol, which are legal and kill far more people and cost society much more than opiates and other illicit drugs.
The Sheriff then indulged in fear-mongering, stating that masses of homeless drug addicts are waiting to invade Klickitat County and threaten to turn it “into Portland and Seattle.” The reality is that this community is no different than any other, and for years has been affected by these issues like everywhere else.
More shockingly, representatives from law enforcement and the Klickitat County Commissioners went out of their way to urge those in attendance not to approve ongoing funding for Klickitat County Emergency Medical Services in future levy elections. This punishment is apparently deemed needed for Klickitat Co. EMS District 1’s unelected Board Members, who allegedly harm the public by refusing to allow removal of scarce ambulance resources from the EMS system for out-of-county non-emergency transportation of psychiatric patients.
First, it was the County Commissioners who created EMS District 1 and decided it would have an appointed instead of an elected Board.
Second, people with psychiatric issues – but who have no significant medical condition and require no medical attendance – should and can be transported to psychiatric facilities appropriately by non-medical personnel and vehicles. From the statements of several assistance agencies in attendance at the meeting, it appears these transportation resources are available, but the County and its law enforcement agencies are unaware of their existence.
With limited ambulance resources to begin with, the proposition that you would use an EMS ambulance and its lifesaving paramedic/EMT crew as some sort of Uber service for the mentally ill is itself insane.
It is even more astonishing that promoting the defunding of essential emergency medical services are being uttered by those who are supposed to be looking out for and protecting the public’s health, safety, and welfare.
-Bob Yoesle, retired paramedic, Goldendale