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Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my profound disappointment and anger over the recent actions of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors regarding the relocation of the Veterans Service Office (VSO). Despite impassioned pleas from numerous veterans and community members, the Board has persisted in a decision that not only disrespects our veterans but also demonstrates a troubling lack of transparency and consideration.
The CEO and GSA Facilities Department Head Jannelle Rau decided to move the VSO into an inadequate space within the Public Health Department building, and the Board of Supervisors voted to approve without proper communication or consultation with the veterans or veteran groups. This hastily and poorly executed move of the VSO betrays a startling indifference to the needs and dignity of those who have served our country.
What is particularly galling is the sneaky manner in which County executive leadership went about this. The veterans, the very people this decision affects the most, were the last to know and given almost no time to mount an effective opposition. It’s as if the Board hoped this move would go unnoticed until it was too late. This behavior by our leadership happens often and is not just poor governance; it’s a blatant disregard for the democratic process and public accountability.
The assurances the Board and Dr. Jenine Miller provided about making the new location “welcoming” with a private reception area and a possible additional office come off as hollow, reactive measures rather than well-thought-out plans. These promises of improvement seem more like band-aids applied to a situation that requires surgery. The fact that the veterans’ service office will now be in a controlled access building, hindering easy walk-in access, shows a need for more understanding of the very nature of the services provided to our veterans.
Moreover, the burden placed on Michelle Smith, the sole Veterans Service Representative, is unacceptable. Expecting her to manage the workload meant for two while navigating these new and ill-conceived changes is unreasonable and unsustainable.
This entire situation reflects poorly on the current leadership of Mendocino County. It paints a picture of a Board of Supervisors that needs to be in touch, lacking in foresight, and seemingly indifferent to the voices of the people they are supposed to serve and represent. As a concerned citizen, I am appalled. As someone who cares deeply about the welfare of our veterans, I am outraged.
I vow to keep a close watch on this situation, holding the Board accountable for their actions and ensuring our veterans receive the respect and services they rightly deserve. Whether as a private citizen or a potential future member of this Board, I will not let this issue rest. Our veterans deserve better, and it’s high time they received it.
Sincerely,
Jacob S. Brown
VETERAN
Candidate, 2nd District Supervisor
jacobbrownforsupervisor@gmail.com
jacobbrownforsupervisor.com
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I listened to you talk to the board on- line Jacob. Everything you said was so right on. I was in tears. The whole thing is disgusting. A detail I missed at first: the veterans originally went out and got this building ON THEIR OWN for the exact need of a non -clinical government building!! And now the county is taking it!!
My father is a veteran and damn near flips his lid at every clinical appointment. It’s the rushed atmosphere, the lights, the masks and halls and chaos and parking lot and phones and them asking if he’s got his health portal set up. He can’t even use a cell phone. I’ve seen him jump out of his skin at the ring of a phone. He doesn’t trust government buildings. Why would he?
Our local veterans are now on a line fighting for the realization that health is connected to ambiance. Afterall, isn’t it the ambiance of war that causes PTSD? These veterans are fighting a fight for all of us right now, which is the absolute NEED to connect emotional and physical health. They are fighting for the dawning of a realization that the two aren’t separate. They are fighting for all of us who feel like our doctors don’t see the bigger picture of our bodies. They are fighting for the mastectomy patients who just get sent home willy-nilly in out outpatient procedures with no emotional support, for the foster care kids who distrust authority and find doctor’s offices scary, for migraine sufferers that can’t handle florescent lights and buzzing hvacs, for our elders who don’t want to heal in a room of machines beeping with the sound of your fellow patients screaming. For the care-takers and CNAs who’s own sanity and health depend on the calm provided by places like the Veteran’s Building on Observatory. Our local veterans are fighting right now for the right of ALL of us to demand that our health-saving spaces are actually healthy and not based soley on the efficiency of the bottom line… This is the fight of our time.
I think one of the fights of our time is just encouraging people to utilize the mental health services available – period. Many choose not to when they desperately need to and location is just another excuse. Anyone who’s experienced trauma has a hard time with the stigma and finds it hard to walk in anywhere to seek help. That is not unique to us Veterans. I think part of the problem is our society has started to enable people whose identities and sometimes their livelihoods have become tied up in remaining disabled. Pity serves no one. And I am owed nothing. The fact is if people truly want help they’ll seek it out. If they don’t, they won’t. It would have been nice if the VOS could have remained where it was and I too was perturbed that it was done so quickly and without enough opportunity for discussion but I can now see that this is being utilized as a political talking point to ruffle feathers, for votes. I am not a pawn in anyone’s game of the week. Thank you very much.
James D, we are saying the same thing. How does one “get” another to use services? Well I can tell you one thing, proud people won’t go get help if people like you keeping calling services pittance and enabling. And Why stop there?; The government used the people’s service to enable the military industrial complex’s global agenda. Who is enabling who?
I know a lot of vets who feel they were just a cog in the machine of the military industrial complex even though most I know voluntarily enlisted. I only know one who was drafted into Nam. He legit sought services and greatly improved his PTSD symptoms. Quit drinking, went back to work full time to run a construction company before retiring. He volunteers to help the homeless and addicted. Some I know openly admit they won’t use the services not because they’re “proud” but because they’re afraid if they get better they’ll lose their VA money. You can’t do anything about that frame of mind. That’s not something our culture talks about because it comes across as uncouth and “disrespectful” to say, when it’s true. Sadly the VOS was way under utilized at the house I think for those reasons above. I don’t know that moving the location will change that. Crappy to move it, sure, but overall not sure it makes much of a difference. I agree with James D. If people really want to get the help they will.
Veterans must be cared for and listened too. They are to be valued. Not cast aside by this BOS.
Years ago, Shari and I created Guitars for the Troops when she was Ukiah Rotary President. This allowed me to meet many of our Veterans. We gave many of them guitars as a form musical therapy for PTSD. I was able to travel to the VA in Long Beach, CA and deliver guitars and sound equipment. I was invited to watch a practice session Rock For Vets, a forty person band of Veterans and active military rehabbing at the hospital. Men and women who served our great Country jamming rock n roll classics. You could see the smiles on their face and the rare occasion to forget the PTSD or the wheelchair they were sitting in. It was emotional and rewarding.
Thanks Jacob for your Op-Ed letter that reminded me of these awesome memories. And keep up the fight for these amazing people, they must be heard and taken care of.
Political ploys are so obvious. Politicians and politician wanna-bes are so predictably passionate and incensed when an election is looming and they need a platform.
In response to the recent comments, I must clarify that the concerns raised about the relocation of the Veterans Service Office are not and never will be a political ploy. This is about genuine care for our veterans and their access to services, not campaigning.
To suggest that advocacy for our fellow veterans’ needs is merely “a platform” for votes is not only dismissive but also disrespectful. Advocating for veterans is not a seasonal interest that wanes post-election; it is a commitment to those who have served, a responsibility I share as a veteran myself.
The attempt to downplay our concerns by labeling them as enabling a “disabled” identity or a reluctance to seek help is a gross misunderstanding of the veteran experience. To cast aside the unique challenges faced by those bearing the invisible and visible scars of service is to ignore the reality of their sacrifice.
It’s disheartening to witness individuals, particularly those connected to current leadership, undermine our efforts with unfounded accusations of political motivation. This isn’t about votes but visibility and action for our veterans who have felt sidelined by decisions made without their input.
To Mr. James D. (Mulheren, I’m sure), who implies that veterans seeking deserved benefits are merely self-victimizing and should refuse them to avoid pity, I say this: Recognizing the need for support is not self-pity; it’s self-respect. And if utilizing the VA for medical needs while suggesting others are undeserving isn’t hypocrisy, I’m not sure what is.
I stand by my position, not for political gain, but because it is correct. Our veterans are not pawns in a game—they are the people we owe our freedoms to. They deserve our unwavering support, not just when the spotlight shines on their struggles.