Minutes 09/22/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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September 22, 2020 First I would like to forewarn you I have structured this email in the form of a very long narrative. With so much going on in the world now as well as in our city I thought why not give the Council members something to read that can hopefully be refreshing mixed with a thought provoking theme. My hope is after reading this you will sign hmmmm, reflect, and ask yourself what have I just read, and more importantly how do I feel as a citizen of Portsmouth VA. I am hoping for a toss salad mixed with some uneasiness, intrigue, pondering, and resolve. I had to find a way to infuse this email with some personality hoping it would give you a small glimpse of who I Darlene H. Breckenridge is. I am a lifelong resident of Portsmouth NOT “p-town” who lived all my childhood and part of my adult life in a two street neighborhood that encouraged us to NEVER cease to entertain the POSSIBILITY of something…. First I would like to give honor to my neighbor now my Ancestor Mr. Jasper Short who attended City Council meetings religiously and always encouraged those of us in the neighborhood to recognize our voice and use it respectfully and clearly. My motto is to be firm, frank, fair, and friendly. Hopefully as he looks down on me he sees I never forgot what he instilled in us. As a 59 year old African American female employed at PDBHS as a Registered Nurse I have the distinct honor to work with a population that many overlook unknowingly and sometimes knowingly. The Medication Management Unit includes Helga Burney LPN, myself, and Donna Rivera Supervisor. We are tasked with all duties required to maintain the best health possible for the community based population of the chronically mentally ill clients. That entails the administering of prescribed intramuscular antipsychotic medications as ordered for clients who have previously been historically non-compliant with treatment. Without these prescribed medications this population is prone to mentally decompensation as evidenced by experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations and possible suicidal and homicidal ideations which pust them at risk of reoccurring psychiatric hospitalizations, increase homelessness, increased criminal behavior, and loss of baseline stability in the community that many had not experienced for years due to psychiatric instability. As stated the treatment provided by the Medication Management Unit helps tremendously with decreasing the potential for increased psychiatric hospitalization due to active psychosis, increased financial stain on local hospitals, and potential for increased criminal behavior which directly affects the jail system and the overall fragile stability in our city now due to the Pandemic. I was told by Mrs. Little-Hill during a scheduled meeting she and I had that employees of the City of Portsmouth are being asked to explain how our particular skill set directly mitigated COVID-19. I submit to you as I did to her and all others I initially emailed as an employee of the City of Portsmouth I do that daily by doing my job as so many other City of Portsmouth employees do as well. I told Mrs. Little-Hill I do realize what affects my community, city, fellow citizens of Portsmouth does affect me as well so I am both thankful and grateful monies given to the State of Virginia were used to help our citizens with rent and utilities. However as a service worker for my city it does appear some employees level of service was determined by whomever responsible for the disbursement of the funds to not meet the subjective criteiria for the $1500.00 Hazard pay. This is both confusing and disappointing to me. Having lived my entire life in Portsmouth and observing the historical a racially divide it the city I must say I have never felt this kind of disappointment in my city before. I have experienced name calling by people of the lighter pigmentation, chased with chains, and other so-called subtle behaviors that as a person of a darker pigmentation I was not suppose to recognize. However the balance to all this in my life was my experiences of growing up in New Kirn Building as a little girl where my mother Ellen Hargrove was the Custodial Supervisor. I was fortunate to experience and see some level of respect during my silly child like conversations with Mr. Lefcoe, Peter Axson, Mr. Blachman, Mr. David Levin, Doctor James Parker, Mr. Harrell, Mr. Robert Hargrave and so many others. As a graduate of Cradock High School who was presented the DAR Scholarship by Mayor Richard Davis I realized that presentation may have been a “good look scenario” or it may have been Mrs. Pollard my guidance counselor knew this and still felt I was deservant of the scholarship. As a ’84 ODU graduate and the only African American in my class I have had many opportunities to know what it feels like to be judged often by your complexion and sometimes the content of my character. While playfully assisting my mother manage the elevator in New Kirn Building I can hear it like it was yesterday when Mr. David Levin said to my mother, “Ellen I do not know what to call you,” (in regards to her Race) and hearing my mother say, “you know my name don’t you.”. I was raised by parents and in a neighborly environment that dressed us in