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23 (56)Jennifer L. Hall From: Alissa Fernandez < Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2021 3:43 PM To: Public Comment Subject: [EXTERNAL] Grandma's House of Hope Warning: This email originated from outside the City of Anaheim. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the message. Honorable Mayor and City Council, I am a lifetime resident of Anaheim and currently earning my doctorate in Clinical Psychology who has spent extensive time working with those who are severely and persistently mentally ill. I urge you to allow for "Grandma's House of Hope" to be able to operate in the 600 block of North West Street so that we may be able to help some of the most vulnerable members of our community. As representatives of our community, I urge you not to allow for stigma and bias to influence your decision in the placement of the facility. The false narratives of danger and violence that are being perpetuated by other members of the community, as their reason for not wanting the facility near their home, is a clear sign that they are misinformed on the population that will be receiving treatment in that home. There has been substantial research done on the rate of violence perpetuated by those who are severely mentally ill, it is substantially lower than the rate of violence perpetrated by those with no mental illness. In fact, those who are mentally ill are almost 3x as likely to be a victim of a violent act than those who do not suffer with a mental illness (NIH, 2003). Please understand that those who would be living in the vicinity of the facility are significantly greater risk of being a victim of a violent act by someone with no mental illness at their local shopping mall, than they would be with this facility in their neighborhood. Without facilities such as this one in our own communities, we will never be able to solve the growing number of those experiencing homelessness. These are human beings with hearts and dreams and opinions. These are individuals with thoughts and a name, they have foods they like, they have activities they enjoy. These are not nameless shadows, we are talking about human lives and those who have been repeatedly marginalized by society. We have no room in our community for bias and stigma, or this type of hateful outcry over a treatment facility for those who need a community to rally on their behalf. I urge you to not perpetuate the cycle of hate, the opportunity is in your hands to begin breaking the cycle, or to continue it, please make the right choice and break the cycle. Sincerely, Alissa https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525086/ violence by asking three questions: Are the mentally...