Our hat is off to Millennium Running!

TO THE EDITOR:

The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester has been delivering psychiatric treatment for the Manchester Community for over 60 years. Much of the success of our programing has been due to our connections with the members of this great community. Gratitude does not suffice the feelings we have for programs like Millennium Running, who named the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester as their 2021 Charity Cause.

These past few years have changed the face and logistics of the delivery system in mental health care. Families and individuals have had to make many changes in a very uncertain world. Businesses have been hit hard and have had to make many accommodations to exist. To add to these issues, which creates even more difficulties, we have seen an increase in those individuals seeking treatment for anxiety and depression. Homelessness has increased, as have the numbers of those dealing with substance misuse.

We are in a “take care of everyone” mode and the number of staff we have to meet those needs has been declining. So, for now, we all work hard to promote prevention while we pick up the pieces of broken lives. Picking them up over and over again.

It is not always about money but, don’t get me wrong, the field of mental health services needs much more financial supports. The human connection is just as important if we are ever able to turn the corner and change the face of mental health treatment for good. All of the public awareness, public support and the public acknowledgment that these issues affect, help many people to turn that corner every day! The world is beginning to see that mental illness can affect anyone at any time. So, thank you Millennium Running for choosing mental health as your 2021 charity of choice, and all the other groups that support mental wellness. Support such as theirs keeps the dialogue open and helps to reduce stigma and bring more people together. For together, we can create HOPE for those who had stopped believing it ever existed.

RIK CORNELL
VICE PRESIDENT OF
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
THE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF
GREATER MANCHESTER

An open letter to the Special Committee on Redistricting

DEAR MEMBERS OF THE NH HOUSE REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE,

Thank you for accepting the task of serving on the NH House Redistricting Committee. I appreciate the enormity of creating fair, nonpartisan voting districts.

My town was one of the 74 towns that endorsed a resolution requesting a redistricting process that would be transparent, invite stakeholder input and produce voting maps giving each voter an equal weight.

This year’s redistricting process is sure to have a great deal of public scrutiny — with voting rights a key issue in the news, and the exemplary model of the 2020 Emergency Election Select Committee, which did accept input, acted with transparency and did not give weight to partisan concerns. NH citizens are now much more educated about voting issues, redistricting and gerrymandering.

Everyone recognizes the snake-like District 2 as a visible example of gerrymandering. Not so visible, but certainly insidious: In the 2011 redistricting process, 62 of the 152 towns eligible for their own House district did not get one! I think if 41% of our towns were cheated in this way today, they would not let the matter rest. We all want our towns to have the representation the NH Constitution promises them.

Thank you again for the time and effort you dedicate to New Hampshire. You will have us all watching you as you assume this great task — but you will also win our very great appreciation for a fair, transparent redistricting process.

MOST SINCERELY,
SUSAN RICHMAN
DURHAM

A ‘final wake-up call’

TO THE EDITOR:

Recent stories of patients in ICUs begging for the vaccination are heartrending. Their “final wake-up call” came too late. Let us be honest, this was not because the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook all night; 600,000 people were lost to Covid and virtually every currently hospitalized Covid patient was unvaccinated. This article by Ms. Gokee (‘A final wake-up call’ by Amanda Gokee, which appears in this issue) is yet another alarm bell ringing in the night, but who will answer? Will the entire country have to become so damaged by the climate crisis that the citizens finally accept the long-agreed-upon science and beg for a carbon tax, sustainable agriculture and more renewable energy?

If so, it will be too late. Every smart business owner needs to address the risk of future catastrophic losses, even if they are unlikely. That means becoming informed and taking action now. The odds are very high that climate change is threatening things you love. (Hint: your children, your town.) Become an activist to protect them, and tell your political representatives what they need to do. Only overwhelming public pressure will overcome lobbyists who represent a minority of the economy. This is as true for conservatives as for progressives. Make a serious effort to rise above the feel-good righteousness of tribal thinking. The victims of Covid and residents of Waverly, Tenn., represent the political spectrum. Even tribes must band together against a common enemy. “This is your final boarding call.” Get on board.

GARY STEWART
CONCORD

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