The recent tragedy at a Portland group home should have every client-facing social services agency on high alert. Safety in these settings is often left to the workers. Staff are left to “make assessments” on clients’ mental stability. De-escalation training is great and almost always required in these settings, but is it enough? This is a systemic problem. 

Maine has one person in charge of placing people into group homes. Why? These agencies are constantly trying to survive with budget cuts, budget changes, understaffing and burnout. We need support, safety measures, adequate resources for those experiencing mental illness, and resources for maintaining a safe work environment for employees. 

In my own experience in a similar setting, an incredible amount of energy and focus is devoted to public appearance and minimizing ridicule from the community.

To prevent another tragedy from happening, it has to start at the federal level. We need funding and resources. At the state level, we need more oversight, clinicians and facilities. At the community level, we need support and acceptance. Senior management must focus on the facilities they oversee, not on the opinions of police, city officials, neighborhoods and folks who have a general distaste for people with mental illness. 

Shalom House has been unsuccessful in past attempts to unionize. Imagine if it had been able to bargain heftier safety measures. We can’t let this death mean nothing. A vibrant young mother was ripped from her family and her community, and the system is at fault.

Sarah Geores
Portland