The Seedling

Dale Hausner was sentenced today to two life terms and 900 plus years in prison for the 72 convictions as the Serial Shooter. This is on top of the 6 death sentences he received last week.

This can never erase the horror he inflicted but I do hope the survivors and families feel that justice was served.

Justice is served!

Dale Hausner, who went on a rampage in the Valley a few years ago that resulted in 8 dead and many wounded, was sentenced this past week to 6 death sentences. And this is only his sentence for the 6 counts of murder for which he was found guilty. He is still waiting to be sentenced for the remaining 72 counts.

US House of Representatives passed a resolution this past week that honors the social work profession and what we as social workers strive to do. The resolution was introduced by one of the nine social workers in Congress. I hope this type of support and recognition continues as without social workers there would be a lot of people in worse off situations. We are on the front line of our society, connecting people to services, counseling families, assisting the homeless and mentally ill, supporting people through tough times. am proud to be a licensed clinical social worker and I am proud of what we accomplish. Thank you Congress for recognizing our value to society.

Arizona Humane Society found a little Chihuahua, with its legs duct taped and a bag tied around its head, on the side of the road. I cannot believe that someone out there is so unfeeling and disturbed to do this to a helpless animal. There is absolutely nothing that can excuse or explain this. I would like to think the guilty party will be caught but I doubt it. Hopefully the guilt will eat them alive.

On March 28th at 8:30pm, there is a global event called Earth Hour. It is an hour in which people are asked to basically be off the electrical grid and for an hour I hope most Americans take part in this event as all it requires is to turn all your lights off for an hour and do a small gesture for he fight against global climate change. For all of you who say you can”t make a difference, well this is your chance to do something positive.

A few days ago, The Arizona Republic ran this article about spanking kids. It seems like this should be common sense. I mean really…is it that unrealistic to think that if you use violence to punish kids has the potential to create defiant children? I hope people actually take a look at what they do and start incorporating constructive forms of discipline.

The CEO of Magellan, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority for Maricopa County, is drinking the Kool-Aid. His level of denial is unreal. Magellan has been audited in the last few months and the results have been less than stellar. And he has the nerve to say things are moving forward? Really? Has he been reading the news? Did he look at the audit? Has he talked to consumers? or better yet, has he talked to providers? The consensus would be that the system has taken a drastic nose dive since Magellan took over from Value Options. When will we learn that a for-profit agency CAN NOT run a non-for-profit field. Mental health is not a money-making machine. I think I speak for a lot of us in the mental health arena here in Phoenix when I say that the end of this contract with Magellan can not come soon enough.

Dale Hausner, the man suspected of being the “Serial Shooter” here in the Phoenix area in2005-06, was found guilty in 80 out of 87 counts. Justice has been served. It doesn’t bring back any of those who he murdered or ease the suffering of surviving victims and families, but it is a salve of sorts. To know that our justice system worked and a serial murderer will be punished. Now we have to wait and see exactly what his sentence will be.

I receive daily news updates from Social Work Today, which is THE publication for social workers. Recently a news article reported on the idea that young adults who develop PTSD after being exposed to a traumatic event may be more likely to attempt suicide than those young adults who do not develop PTSD. As a social worker and crisis counselor, this finding is very disturbing. While there is not direct cause and effect relationship, it certainly makes sense and could explain a lot. In my job, I work with all ages, but it seems more and more, we are being called out to talk to kids. And more and more, suicide is the reason. It is scary to think that so many young adults see suicide as a viable option. It definitely tells me we need to do so much more in our society to help prevent this way of thinking. Now is not the time to cut funding to social service agencies.

Working as a crisis counselor in the mental health field, I am well aware of the rampant prescription drug abuse occurring in our communities. In particular, teenagers are buying and selling drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin on school campuses to get high. Of course I want this trend to cease. But I am not sure I like the way Arizona is going about it. If you have a script for meds such as OxyContin, Amben or Vicodin, then once you fill it your name and other info is put into a tracking system. Then a doctor or pharmacist can look up patients to see when they last had a scripts filled for prescription meds such as Ambien and Vicodin to see if the patient is “doctor shopping.” I think this is a privacy issue and makes me very uncomfortable.