THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995               TAG: 9501130254
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON    PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   45 lines

CARTOON IS A DISSERVICE TO THE CITY, DISABLED

Over the course of the past year, the Community Services Board has appeared before the City Council to accomplish two objectives: first, the appropriation of additional revenues generated through fees and grant activities to expand service; and second, to advise Council on changing patterns of health-care financing, which may have consequences to the city's most disabled citizens and their families.

In carrying out the responsibilities outlined in the state code, the board has created partnerships with public and private service agencies, civic and social organizations, volunteers and the City Council to ensure that even the most disabled of our fellow citizens has the opportunity to experience the quality of life available in Virginia Beach.

No family plans to have a member with mental retardation. No amount of insurance or wealth can prepare a family for the challenges created by a chronic mental disability. No private-sector treatment service is prepared to meet the complex needs of such disabled persons on a long-term basis. It was for this reason that public mental-health programs were initiated, and it continues to be the reason for their existence.

Given these conditions, the editorial cartoon that appeared in The Beacon Jan. 8 is most unfortunate. It does a disservice to those who seek to find creative alternatives, to those who have exhausted all their personal and family resources in search of help, and to those elected officials who understand their role of balancing fiscal responsibility with meeting the public good.

To do nothing, as was suggested, would leave thousands of citizens without options and without hope. Such action would be a disservice to them and diminish the quality that makes Virginia Beach a model for the region and the nation.

Robert F. Hagans Jr.

Chairman

Community Services Board

Virginia Beach by CNB