Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Feb. 8, 2022

Anchor-outs documentary illustrates Marin issue

I would like to recommend a documentary about Richardson Bay anchor-outs. It was created by the Vice media group. The 10-minute report called “Living Rent-Free Next to Millionaires” is posted on YouTube.com.

It is damaging that, in the Bay Area, we continue to ignore and harm people who choose to live any sort of alternative lifestyle. We often do so with a complete lack of empathy or knowledge of any of their past circumstances.

The recent petition against housing the homeless near children’s school routes in Larkspur should serve as a reminder that we are nowhere close to being an inclusive county. In fact, Marin is still one of the most segregated places in the entire state.

If we look down on people and we never seek to understand or help, what does that say about us?

— Paul Gray, Kentfield

Buckelew provides care in home-like setting

I found the excellent recent article (“Marin reserves psychiatric beds at new Sonoma center,” Jan. 30) helpful in raising critical awareness about the rising mental health needs in the county. As CEO of Buckelew Programs, I am writing to augment the article with more important information.

Buckelew Programs operates the Casa Rene crisis residential facility in Marin County that was attributed to Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. We contract exclusively with that organization for referrals to this program, which has been in operation since 2014.

Since the inception of this program, we have served hundreds of people who otherwise would have gone to an inpatient psychiatric facility. We continue to be successful in regularly diverting individuals from a higher level of care to a lower level of care in a home-like setting.

For more than 50 years, Buckelew Programs has provided a continuum of recovery services to individuals in Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties designed to reduce mental health and addiction-related hospitalizations, improve transitions back to the community and provide supported housing services that ensure individuals have access to the services they need.

As the fallout from the pandemic continues, we appreciate this opportunity to continue this important conversation about the increased need for mental health services in Marin and to advocate for more awareness and solutions.

— Chris Kughn, Novato

Privacy concerns must be part of internet discussion

There are no free lunches. Everyone pays for “free stuff” one way or another.

While the objectives of broadband access seem noble, there is a troubling intrusion of privacy on the citizens when an official internet service provider (ISP) or even a “public and private collaboration” ISP controls the networks of communication.

In the U.S., we regulate our phone networks, but who in the world will regulate this new publicly provided ISP recently discussed in the Marin IJ (“Marin adopts countywide plan for digital access,” Feb. 2)? What happens when people use the ISP for illegal activities or to spread the so-called “dangerous misinformation” that runs afoul of government doctrine?

I believe there will be an irresistible urge to breach the privacy of every citizen in order to catch a few rogue actors. This cannot stand in a free society. In a collaboration, the private internet provider will have unprecedented powers to mine data from our community for commercial purposes, but will also be captive of government oversight. We have a relatively free society today because we resist the urge of government intrusion into our lives.

Broadband access for the underserved could be better addressed with subsidies to allow individuals to select their own ISP. I don’t share the concerns about electric- and magnetic-field radiation that some citizens do, but I believe that we should have the choice to participate in the Digital Marin initiative that will be forced into everyone’s home.

Today, internet-enabled devices are everywhere. They beam information about us around the world to unknown entities. We do not need Marin County to join in this effort. The “free” internet is a free digital jail cell. Supervisors should reject it.

— Stephen Nestel, Marinwood