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Candidates voice their thoughts on mental health

Grand Haven Tribune - 9/27/2016

Sept. 27--Local candidates running in the November general election shifted their attention Monday night to mental health.

During a town hall meeting at the Grand Haven Community Center, a panel of candidates provided their stances on mental health and the criminal justice system.

Here are their thoughts:

Ottawa County District Court candidates:

Vern Helder said he's interested in incorporating mental health and sobriety courts. While mental health needs to be treated, Helder said there's also a responsibility to make sure the community is protected.

Helder said he sees firsthand how treatment, staying on medication and support helps make someone successful. During elementary school, his son was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Over the years, Helder's son has remained on medication and recently graduated from the University of Michigan.

Judy Mulder said she's passionate about treating children. She said she believes in drug court treatment, and its goal is to make society safer as well as a need for preventing recidivism.

In an effort to address those issues, Mulder said she would like to start a drug and mental health court to address needs.

Ottawa County Circuit Court candidates:

Over the course of her career as an assistant prosecuting attorney, Karen Meidema said she's encountered a wide variety of individuals and variety of cases. To address issues in the changing community, Meidema said we need people to be part of the solution and issues need to continue being addressed.

Meidema said she's seen a change in people who've been part of a sobriety treatment program and it's rewarding to be part of that change in their lives.

Dan Martin said mental health disabilities don't always receive the same recognition as physical disabilities. In classrooms, students with disabilities aren't punished because of their need, but instead they are given behavior modifications, he said.

In order to treat people justly, Martin said they also need to be treated differently. He said law enforcement and first responders also need to be trained so they can properly identify someone with a mental illness.

Congressional candidates:

Mental health is a topic that's close to the heart of Dennis Murphy and his family, he said. Murphy recently traveled to California to help a family member enter treatment for a mental illness, but it was challenging to find a place.

Looking at the upcoming budget, Murphy said $135 million for mapping neurological pathways looks to be promising and could be strong to help not only mental illness but also post-traumatic stress disorder and concussions. Murphy said the system also needs to be addressed to make sure it's being effective.

Greg VanWoerkom from U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga's office said that mental health is often too bogged down by statistics and not the people directly effected.

About 112 federally funded programs are aimed at addressing mental health. One piece of legislation, called the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, is aimed at addressing the number of psychiatric beds available, working on evidence-based training, and works to address youth suicide among other things, VanWoerkom said.

State House 89th District candidates:

Over the past several months, Tim Meyer said he's paid more attention to issues surrounding mental health, and he's also learned by listening to his wife, who is a case worker. One of the issues Meyer has followed particularly close is funding. He said money has stayed in Lansing, and it's caused local support for issues to be funded through countywide millages.

Jim Lilly was invited, but he was unable to attend the meeting.

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(c)2016 the Grand Haven Tribune (Grand Haven, Mich.)

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