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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR MAY 14-20, 2021 13
Mental Health
Month Mission
BY TODD KARLIN,
May is Mental Health
Month and the theme
this year is “You Are Not
Alone.” This is especially
resonant in a year of so
much heartbreak and loss.
As adults, many of us have
struggled, but we often discount
the toll the pandemic
has taken on our youth.
As we continue the process
of reopening and taking
baby steps toward normalcy,
we should pause and
make sure that our children
are alright. Reopening
is a good thing, but
change is difficult for all
of us. And children are not
mini adults; they process
things differently than we
do. So how do we recognize
signs of stress, anxiety and
depression in children?
Furthermore, what should
you do if you fear that a
child or teen in your care
is suicidal?
According to the Centers
for Disease Control
and Prevention, between
April and October 2020,
hospital emergency departments
saw a rise in the
share of total visits that
were from kids for mental
health needs.
Now, there are no nationwide
numbers on suicide
deaths in 2020 yet,
and researchers have yet
to clearly link recent suicides
to the pandemic.
Yet on the ground, there’s
growing concern. Suicide
is the third leading cause
of death for youth between
the ages of 10 and 24 and
has been rising in recent
years. Don’t assume your
children will tell you if
they are struggling or need
help. Please be vigilant for
underlying mental health
issues and know the acute
warning signs that a child
or teen may be at risk for
suicidal behaviors such as
expressing hopelessness
or purposelessness, withdrawal
from relationships,
anger and revenge seeking
and reckless or risky behaviors.
While these behaviors
can signal many things,
it is okay to ask about suicidal
thoughts. The idea
that asking about it can put
the idea in someone’s head
is a myth.
If you feel your child is
at imminent risk, please
connect with free mental
health resources in your
community immediately.
For those living in New
York State’s Hudson Valley
and the Bronx, you
can call Astor Services for
Children & Families’ tollfree
hotline: 800-273-TALK
(800-273-8255). Mainly, remember,
you are not alone.
Todd Karlin, PsyD, MSEd
is chief program offi cer at Astor
Services for Children &
Families, a nonprofi t organization
that provides educational
and community-based
behavioral health services
throughout the Hudson Valley
and the Bronx.
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed
care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter,
3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.com.
All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and with a
verifi able address and telephone number included.
Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld upon request.
No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the
right to edit all submissions.
BY E. MCKAY
Some of you may not know
what that means and some of
you may know. For those who
do not know I am going to explain
my reason for making
this statement. I am a Landlord
with a single family detached
house in Country Club,
6 rooms, 3 bedrooms valued at
$650,000. Which, as a matter of
fact, is presently “For Sale”.
But I have tenants living
there. You may be a landlord
also. Let me tell you about My
Tenants. My tenant took down
my “For Sale” Sign and put up
her “Sold Sign” in the window.
My tenant covers the address
to the house with trivial decorations
to block perspective
buyers and will not let any
Real Estate people in to view
the property. My tenant has
not paid the rent for 10 months
and has been in eviction court
since February 2020.
My tenant has fi led 7 violations
against me with the HPD
but will not allow me into the
house to make repairs since
December 2019. My lawyer and
I have been to Virtual court 6
times and each time the Judge
orders my tenant to let me
in to make repairs that she
claims, and each time my tenant
refuses entry to me and my
contractors. My tenant says,
“I can’t let you in because of
Covid 19” and other mundane
excuses. In addition, my tenant
has 3 lawsuits against me
and violations with the Building
Department at a cost to me
of legal fees more than $10,000,
claims of damage to her personal
property, and a defamation
suit against me that she
has not responded to since October.
She told me she was just
doing it to scare me.
Oh, did I tell you I have 3
lawyers to handle my tenants’
claims. So far, I put on a new
roof, a new chain link fence,
siding on exterior. And if that
is not enough, my tenants will
not give me a key or allow me
entry to my house that my tenant
is neglecting and allowing
to deteriorate.
My tenant sits on the front
stoop, where she lives, and
throws her cigarette butts
wherever they land. Now, you
may be thinking this cannot
be happening, not in this
neighborhood. But it is and
not only to me. I know there
are others like me out there.
And there are lots of people
who have given me, and probably
you, lots of advice. But remember
it is not like the old
days when someone knocked
on the tenant’s door and they
were gone the next day. No,
very different now. Our politicians
have control over opening
the courts and extending
the eviction dates again and
again.
On the Hardship Defamation
Claim the tenants can
check whatever they want, no
one verifi es them. My tenants
falsely claim to be 65 years old,
disabled, and unemployed.
Tenants have all the rights!
Try to fi nd one right for the
landlord. You will not fi nd any.
Guess who is paying the taxes,
the insurance, the water and
sewer and maintenance as a
loyal citizen? Guess who is in
the red right now and using
their pension to support my
tenants?
Oh, I forgot to tell you. I am
86 and my husband is 90 years
of age. It is me and it is you
who are supporting our tenants.
All the while my tenants
and maybe yours are “living
high on the hog on my dime”.
Maybe on your dime too.
oped
BY JOHN DARROW
If you are over 60 and have
not heard of “white privilege,”
then you may have lived it.
I currently live in an active
adult community where most of
us are white, upper middle-class
professionals, with a smattering
of Black residents, Asian
residents and Latinos. I can’t
speak for others, but I think my
lifestyle has something to do
with me being a white, collegeeducated,
straight male who
looked like my bosses throughout
my career.
But what about the majority
of others whose fate is directly
tied to the other economy?
They may be working two jobs
to make ends meet if they were
lucky to keep their jobs through
the pandemic. Many of them
are one medical emergency
away from going under.
Many will never achieve
the “American Dream” that
my friends and I have, without
some major changes in our government.
How do we fi x our government
when one third of the
country hates another third
of the country — and another
third doesn’t seem to care?
The “For the People Act”
that has passed in the House
of Representatives needs to become
law so that the opportunities
I enjoyed growing up
become more of a reality for everyone.
It needs to become easier
to vote, not harder, so that
all interests are represented so
we can achieve the true “government
of the people, by the
people and for the people” that
we were promised.
We all need to engage to
make these things happen. Sitting
on the sidelines is no longer
an option.
John Darrow is a member of
Seniors Taking Action, a group
of activists who believe that political
engagement is essential
if democracy is to fl ourish.
Children need to know
that they’re not alone
How do we fi x our government?
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