The Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County

September 11th — a day, I suspect, none of us will forget. It was a tragedy of such immense proportions that each of us old enough to know, to understand what truly happened, has had the attack on the United States of America burned into our consciousness. New York City, Washington, D.C., rural Pennsylvania — thousands of innocent lives were taken — many, many others injured. In addition to those whose lives have been lost and injured, how many countless thousands have been touched by the loss and devastation? Family, friends, associates, colleagues — the reach of this terrorist attack ran across the country. Who and where didn’t it touch? And, not just across our country. In truth, this was an international tragedy. Apparently, people from over 60 countries are listed among the missing and presumed dead from the World Trade Center destruction.

In addition, the economic impact of September 11th has and will be enormous. The cost of the New York City/World Trade Center clean up, reconstruction, and lost income is now being estimated at over $100 billion. We have all heard about the rapid ripple effects on the airline, hotel, motel, tourism, and insurance industries — an already “shaky” economy has been rocked. The stock market — well, what can be said for one of the largest drops in history. Discussions at the Federal level impacting healthcare, coverage for the uninsured, issues effecting the disabled — all are basically on the back burner. The surplus that was, is no longer in existence. Why?

In addition to the cleanup, the Federal assistance to impacted people, organizations, and industries, we, as a country, have declared war on terrorism — on the people who perpetrated these heinous acts and on those who have harbored and assisted them. Our President and a united Congress have begun assembling an international coalition and launching the initial salvos in our response. We are told this will be a long, slow process. We have declared a commitment to holding those accountable for what they have perpetrated against this country and its people.

Perhaps the greatest impact — more than the lives lost or injured — more than the crumbled, burned buildings — more than the billions and billions of dollars — perhaps the greatest impact has been on our sense of safety and security. We, as a nation, have been badly shaken. We are vulnerable — subject to attacks by people willing to take innocent lives along with their own. We have great difficulty in understanding these terrorists. But, we now understand what so many people around the world have experienced. This is a new reality for us — for most of us since early World War II. But September 11th was worse — it was the taking of innocent lives at a scale that dwarfs other losses in our history. We have been shaken and we want to strike back. We want to impose a level of accountability on those responsible to the “nth” degree.

And, perhaps, herein lies the true danger. Identifying those responsible and holding them accountable is due and proper. The danger to us as a country is that we not forget to hold our own selves accountable for our own reactions — reactions that must not lose sight of our civil liberties — nor sacrifice our constitutional freedoms — nor forget these basic words “We the people” — that includes all of the people of the United States. We must not paint innocent people here in the United States, or abroad in other countries, who have a middle eastern name, look to be of a certain ethnicity, or hold religious beliefs that may be different from Judeo-Christian beliefs with the same brushstroke. We must not lose sight of the fact that most of us in this rich, diverse country called the United States of America trace our “roots” back to somewhere else. For most of us, our ancestors were immigrants that came here to a land of opportunity. These immigrants were “different” to those who were indigenous to and living in this land. For many of our staff who are reflective of the diversity in Harris County and the consumers we serve, there are concerns not just for themselves and their family or friends here, but for family and friends in their countries of origin. Nor must we as a society forget our responsibilities to the people we serve who, through no fault of their own, have a serious mental disability and turn to the public system for services and supports, ensuring that the resources for this care are not compromised.

Accountability is a relatively simple word but hard to ensure. Accountability is the responsibility of each of us — each of us, both at the personal and organizational level, must rededicate ourselves to hold our values before us and behave in ways that “walk the talk.” As the saying goes, talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words.

Throughout this crisis in our country, we as an organization have tried to recognize the potential impact this has had on our consumers and their families, our staff and their families, and the community at large. We continue to monitor events on a daily basis and stay informed and connected with developments in the Houston metropolitan area relating to crisis intervention and antiterrorist activities. This is, indeed, a time of greater uncertainty and anxiety. Our staff provides the stability and confidence for so many of our consumers who, due to their mental disability, may find it all the more difficult to adjust during this stressed period. It is a special role that we fill, an intangible part of the Public Safety Net as we provide continuing services and supports for our priority population consumers and their families. It is not always easy to hold our own personal worries and anxieties in check to ensure that our consumers are treated with dignity, respect, caring, and support.

Accountability — now and into the future — for MHMRA — for the United States of America. These are challenging times — truly. As we address the tragedy on the national level, we, as a country, will rise up — stronger, wiser, and perhaps even gentler to each other. Certainly, we have come together as a people, and for now, set aside our differences. Thanks to all who are helping us stay the course for our consumers and their families.