Interesting in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

Today proves to be… somewhat interesting.
I have to re-form an Academic Speech for Law Students into a Narrative Speech for Undergrads. Additional trick: The undergrads don’t speak English. Additional Trick: This doesn’t count towards billable hours, but if I do it well, I’ll have lots more clients.
So I have to take “Here’s a traffic stop and what you should do” and make it “Chun Li has been pulled over. Chun Li needs to do the following.” But of course… I worry about being condescending. Because for us… in America, most of us have passed some kind of Civics Class before, even if we don’t act like it. But these Students? Have not. So I want to convince them that the 5th Amendment isn’t just “right to remain silent.” They should know they also have the right to a jury trial and a right to face their accuser. But the Chinese Boss doesn’t want me to go into those details. “Fifth Amendment means they can be quiet. Move on.” But… but… the law. The actual law… and the law as applied.... bah.

Then I have to completely re-do an Asylum Application. I’ve turned in Two Drafts of this so far and after the first draft, Chinese Boss said to fill it in more. So I grabbed Academic and Legal sources and filled it in more. She looked it over and said, “Asylum isn’t criminal. Burden of proof is much smaller. Grab any sources you can, re-focus paper less on China’s broad corruption and more on Forced Eviction.” At least, technically, it is something I can count for billable hours… but as Immigration Cases are Flat Rate Cases… who knows if I’ll get paid for it.

Then returning a shit ton of phone calls because nobody ever calls me back.

Then work on my Batshit Crazy Client. He is currently in jail. Even the guards are saying the kid needs to be treated at a Mental Institution. If they can get him there, calm him down, then the Jail would be happy to have him back. But the prosecutor says the only way this client gets out of the jail is “when he goes to prison.” So… hooray for a prosecutor ignoring (1) Defense Counsel; (2) DHS Agent; and (3) Department of Corrections.

After all of that, I have to cover for my boss at a Juvenile hearing where the client is VERY likely not to show up. You see, he has warrants for other crimes. So if he DOES show up… it’ll make my day more interesting. If he doesn’t… it will likely make my day go by quicker than I’d like considering I’m paid by the hour.

That is my Friday. In order to hit my goal for this week AND make up for lost hours earlier this month… I need to bill 6.7 Hours today. I can already tell you, I’m not going to hit that. But… if I can hit my typical DAILY Goal of 4.2 hours.... reducing overhead … that will at least put me in a better position for next week. It moves the chains, if you will. The math on all of it gets… weird. But I try to hit 83.4 Billable Hours Per Month. First Week of July: 14.3. Second Week of July: 23.5. So far this week, I am at approximately 18 hours. Which means, if I don’t get ANY billable hours today, I would need 27.6 Hours next week to hit my goal. Thus, billable hours today are particularly important… if I can find them.

As to other stuff? Body is feeling tired and broken. I’m tired of pills and eye drops and diets and exercise routines. I keep thinking “If God doesn’t make mistakes, explain how a 71 year old man can live with no ailments and a 33 year old is starting to look like a good candidate for a Nursing Home.”

Everyone is talking about Chester’s suicide and… I’ll admit it hits me pretty hard, too. Linkin Park was/is a favorite band and their songs are the soundtracks to my early 2000s. Literally. Some of their songs instantly transport my mind back to specific memories of those days. But more than anything… it just gets me so angry at society and our government. While we’re focusing on what bullshit 45 tweeted out; while the Government seems to be obsessed with (1) defending the indefensible; and (2) actively trying to hurt their voters… Mental Health continues to be one of the most demonized elements of Health.

From KCRG in Cedar Rapids: (http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/The-Mental-Breakdown-Iowas-mental-health-crisis-420941803.html)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) - People dealing with mental health and the ones who care for them say Iowa is facing a crisis.

To see the entire special, go to our KCRG-TV9 YouTube channel to see it.

One family says their loved one asked for help, and he did not get it. They point their finger to Iowa’s mental health system failing them, and leading to a triple murder in Bondurant, Iowa.

Governor Terry Branstad says Iowa’s mental health system is better after closing two facilities, and changes modernized that system.

“There was a time when we used to house them in these, what they used to call insane asylums,” said Branstad.

Meanwhile doctors say it’s a ‘nationwide and state failure.’

“The system is broken and it’s getting worse,” said Dr. Alan Whitters, the Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.

So how did Iowa get to where it is now? In January 2015, Governor Branstad announced plans to close mental health facilities in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda. They closed that June. Now the state has two facilities open in Cherokee and Independence.
That contributed to a declining number of mental health beds in Iowa. The non-profit Treatment Advocacy Center recommends 50 mental health beds per 100,000 people. Iowa has two beds per 100,000 people. That ranks dead last in the country.

But Governor Branstad points to the state’s tracking system, which shows between 60 to 100 open beds across Iowa at any given time.

“We’ve gone more to trying to treat people who have mental health issues. Then if they stay on the meds, a lot of times they can manage these conditions,” said Governor Branstad.

Lawmakers are also aware of the crisis. On April 15, the League of Women Voters hosted a legislative forum on the issue in Cedar Rapids. Advocates pushed for more funding to reverse the trend of declining beds.

Republican Congressman Dave Heaton says they worked to make changes in Iowa law during the last legislative session.

“We passed legislation and sent it to the governor that the hospitals that are licensed for mental health services will have to report their bed vacancies twice a day, so we know we have an accurate count,” said Heaton.

Democratic Senator Liz Mathis says lawmakers are looking at other ways to help.

“At a legislative level we’re trying to figure out how to train the people in the workforce better in mental health better,” said Mathis. “To make sure there’s money behind that. To make sure wages are good for people who work in mental health, because they’re not always the best. If you go on to get your masters in social work, which is required for some of the things you need to do, it’s very expensive. And then the pay isn’t all that great on the other side of it, because mostly non-profits are doing the work.”

To see all of the stories related to our special presentation, “The Mental Breakdown”, look for the links to these stories in the right hand column on your screen.

So where can people go for help? Here are many links to hospitals, groups and organizations across eastern Iowa, as well as to the state. This is just a list of some of the services available to people.

Hospitals in eastern Iowa include the Behavioral Health Unit at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, St. Luke’s Behavioral and Mental Health Services, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Behavioral Health Services at UnityPoint Health Waterloo, Behavioral Health Services at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, and Mercy Behavioral Health in Des Moines..

The state of Iowa offers many services as well. Here’s the link to the Iowa Department of Human Services, as well as Cherokee Mental Health Institute and Independence Mental Health Institute. We’ve also included the link to Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska.

There are also many organizations with the goal of helping people and their loved ones with mental health issues. Some of those include NAMI of Linn County, Abbe Center for Community Mental Health, Southeast Iowa Link (SEIL), Foundation 2, Mental Health Community Services at Hillcrest Family Services, Horizons Mental Health & Wellness Services, and Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health.

This is a link to Project Hope with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. There you can download the Mental Health Needs Assessment Key Findings.

And this is a link to the non-profit organization Treatment Advocacy Center and their Iowa branch.