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Family, friends of Eddie Giron urge SLO County supervisors to get mental health training

Tribune - 6/3/2021

Jun. 3—A grassroots campaign seeks to convince county supervisors next week to commit to mental health training and a local community action program, following the May 10 deaths of a police officer and his killer, a man who family and friends say was suffering severe mental illness.

The mostly social media-driven campaign is currently lobbying residents to call and email in to the county Board of Supervisors ahead of the June 8 regular meeting in the hopes of inspiring them to place a discussion of the proposed initiative on a future agenda.

One supervisor says she's already in support, as is the mother and sister of Eddie Giron, the 35-year-old man who shot and killed SLOPD Det. Luca Benedetti and wounded another officer in a shootout before taking his own life during a police search of his apartment.

"This call to action is the responsible thing for any bodies of leadership to undertake," Giron's sister, Alisa Hayko, wrote to the board. "Please hear the community when they say 'something must be done.'"

The local campaign began about two weeks ago led by a group of Giron's friends, local clinicians and other community members who this week have been conducting outreach to local elected officials at the county and city level, as well as other local stakeholder groups.

The main thrust of the effort is to have the board commit to taking an 8-hour Mental Health First Aid training course that's regularly offered to the public through both the San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health Department and Transitions Mental Health Association.

One of the organizers of the local community action campaign, Kevin Foote, was a friend of Giron's and told The Tribune he watched his friend fall deeper into mental illness over the past year.

Foote, a Santa Maria junior high school teacher who's also involved with the SLO County Progressives, noted that May was National Mental Health Awareness month.

"June is the month we take mental health action," Foote said. "This is about elevating and protecting and binding together our community through individuals taking ownership of their actions in mental health. And holding our elected officials into account."

The campaign is calling on the Board of Supervisors to commit to the following:

— That each supervisor becomes Mental Health First Aid certified and display their certification

— That supervisors individually "promote and incentivize businesses, organizations, and places of worship in high public contact" to become Mental Health First Aid certified

— In the next three months, each supervisor promote a mental health public forum, event or workshop related to mental health awareness and action

— That the Board of Supervisors work alongside local artists and designers to create a slogan and symbol that signifies an establishment has gone through Mental Health First Aid certification

But first, the group is asking residents to call each member of the board prior to June 8 and demand that they vote to discuss the proposal at a meeting in the near future.

"The base goal is to get them to make this an agenda item," Foote said. "It must be an agenda item."

Mental health first aid a reasonable first step, organizer says

The campaign that began circulating on social media features promotional material volunteered by a local graphic designer.

One flier features a custom design that bears Giron's words sent in a text to a friend as he struggled with his mental health: "I don't think I can be who I was before."

"It's time for our elected officials to stand up for mental health," the flier reads. "We're past awareness. We're ready for action."

Mental Health First Aid certification is an easy first step to do that, Foote said.

The county, which offers the eight-hour training to its employees, says it generally "helps communities understand mental illnesses, seek timely intervention, and save lives." Specifically, participants are taught to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

"The main goal is to help the average person, even a bystander, understand how to help someone who's having initial symptoms of mental illness or even a crisis," a behavioral health clinician and mental health first aid trainer said in a county news release. "You learn how to help in the moment until help arrives — just like CPR."

The goal is to be equipped to provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care.

Similar one-day training sessions are provided to the public by Transitions Mental Health Association for $40.

Foote said Tuesday that the group's four proposed actions came from hours of interviews with licensed SLO County professionals, who reported to the group that elected officials are prime candidates for the training because they have high contact with a diverse swath of the public, should be nonpartisan and are supportive of law enforcement.

"Police and social workers need our help, because if we learned anything watching what happened on May 10, (it's that) the system is overloaded. And that's going to get police officers killed," he said. "It's going to break down communication that's going to get someone in our community killed, if not an officer."

Their coalition of supporters, Foote said, also include local business owners and retail employees. The group is asking the Board of Supervisors to incentive ways for the business community to also embrace the training and promote it to other businesses and community groups.

"The whole point of this is, if we're making someone else go out and do the job, nothing will change," Foote said. "It's my job to be a better teacher, and friend and community member, by being able to identify mental illness and mental duress around me. If I don't do the work, and I'm waiting for someone else to, no one will do it — that's how we got two people dead."

The group has met some resistance during its outreach to public officials, Foote said, with at least one at the city-level official offering to commit to the training only if the Board of Supervisors does.

"That's why it's so important to get (the board)," he said. "It sends a message."

Giron's family urges action

Giron's mother, Caroline Wichman, who lives in San Jose, asked the board to consider the mental health initiative: "Now is the time to take action."

"Mental health awareness is vital to a healthy community. We should strive to consider all avenues of implementation," Wichman wrote. "We want the needs of our people met. We want a community that is safe and not one in fear of reaching out. Please consider the voice of recent incidents as a milestone for change."

Hayko, Giron's sister, also urged action for mental health issues in SLO County "(due to) the recent events, the impact of (COVID-19), and several previous incidents that have occurred regarding mental health issues and law enforcement interaction."

"Every life is precious, and people need support," she wrote. "Please use your influence for good so that tragedies and loss of life can be a thing of the past in your communities, and that we don't just carry on with 'business as usual.' This is the moment in time to enact change for the people you are responsible to govern."

County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg gets onboard

County District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg told The Tribune on Wednesday that she will commit to obtaining a Mental Health First Aid certification.

Though she said she is meeting with organizers of the call to action on Thursday, she said she so far supports their proposal.

"I'm anxious to learn more," she said.

Ortiz-Legg, who sits on the county's Behavioral Health Board as well as its Homeless Services Oversight Council, conceded that "the sensitivity of the tragedy remains very high" over Benedetti's killing, but that she's optimistic her conservative colleagues on the board will recognize local mental health training supports the law enforcement community.

"We have a lot of people in pain right now," she said. "This is not a time to be pointing fingers about how we fell short. We need to be supporting our police better."

"I just hope everybody sees the value," she added, "and can agree that we can always learn more."

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