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Mental-health classes will help troubled students | LETTERS

News-Journal - 8/1/2019

Having spent much of our adult lives working to help those suffering from mental illness, we were delighted to read about the special instruction that will be required for all Florida public school students.

As Florida Board of Education member Ben Gibson said, these lessons will reduce the stigma that rides so heavily on the backs of our young citizens diagnosed with mental illness. Their fellow students will learn that they are not just "acting out because they want to." They will learn how to help, not harass.

Thanks to First Lady Casey DeSantis, who traveled throughout the state to determine the need for help and came up with a way to provide some of that help. She realizes that in order to assist, our young people need to learn how, and need reasons to want to get involved.

Hopefully the special classes will teach students how to understand the needs of the mentally ill, stand with them against classroom bullies and help erase any thoughts of drug use or suicide.

The new instruction requirement is only five hours, but it can be the most important class on the agenda ... and one of the most interesting children have ever taken.

We urge all parents to join with their children for after school discussions when the classes get underway.

Together we can make a big difference in the lives of youngsters who need help, but may not know how to ask for it.

Angela Fazio, DeLand and Dotti Lewis, Daytona Beach

Fazio is program coordinator of the DeLand Drop-In Center, operated by Mental Health America of East Central Florida. Lewis is Assistant director of Project Care, which assists the mentally ill and homeless of Volusia County.

Try popular vote

The national popular vote makes more sense than ever before. Why should the president be someone who received fewer votes? My vote in Florida should count as much as in any other state -- it's the fair thing to do!

Rafael J. Carrero-Sune, Deltona

Just the facts

After considering the dust up between President Trump and the representative from Maryland's 7th district, Elijah Cummings, I thought I would peruse some crime statistics for the U.S. and the world in general.

The following table lists the 10 most dangerous U.S. cities along with their total violent crime rates -- assaults, murder, etc. -- per 100,000 residents.

10. Indianapolis, Indiana: 1,288.0

9. Cleveland, Ohio: 1,334.3

8. Stockton, California: 1,352.0

7. Kansas City, Missouri: 1,654.0

6. Oakland, California 1,442.5

5. Baltimore, Maryland: 1,535.9

4. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 1,596.1

3. Memphis, Tennessee 1,740.1

2. Detroit, Michigan 1,759.6

1. St. Louis, Missouri 1,817.1

Now what is it that they all have in common? Could it be they are ruled by Democrats? These horror shows haven't had a Republican mayor or city council in decades.

What about the world in general? Four of our hell holes made the bottom 100. The following table lists their murder rates:

42. Detroit: 39.69

41. New Orleans: 40.10

21. Baltimore: 55.48

13. St. Louis: 65.83

I always suspected that rising crime rates were positively correlated with corrupt, Democratic control. The data to support these rankings was gathered by various global law enforcement agencies, including the FBI as well as our state and local agencies. Just Google "the most dangerous cities in the U.S." or "the world's most dangerous cities."

It's not racist; it's where the data leads us!

Michael J. Casey, Daytona Beach

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