Letters to the editor - January 15, 2015

Prime Time House committed to helping

I am writing to build on last week’s article by Earl Brecher regarding mental health services for Connecticut’s Northwest Corner. Prime Time House is one of the many service providers that is represented at the Catchment Area Council and has been actively addressing the needs of individuals diagnosed with mental illness for over 25 years. The organization is based in Torrington but serves the 19 towns in Litchfield County, referred to as Catchment Area 22.

Prime Time House is committed to offering adults, 18 and over, a place to come (which includes transportation), the opportunity to work, return to school, find housing and feel good about themselves again. Many individuals with a mental illness feel marginalized from the rest of society and this can lead to isolation and, too often, desperation. Prime Time House gives people an alternative to isolation, the experience of being needed, wanted and appreciated, and an opportunity to connect with others who share similar experiences. The resulting increase in confidence and self-esteem gives people the motivation to take on larger challenges such as work or school. Prime Time House Employment Counselors meet with individuals in their home communities and assist them to find work in the town of their choice. 

Serving the smaller communities has been an ongoing challenge in that we want to be effective and efficient with our resources while still meeting individual need. Our satellite program in Lakeville had to close last summer due to rising costs and restricting budgets. Program budgets are 75 percent funded by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services grants, the remaining 25 percent is raised privately through fundraisers and individual donors. Our ability to continue to creatively meet the demand or expand is dependent on our ability to raise funds. Although we lack a physical office in the area, a professional staff person who establishes a trusting relationship and helps you accomplish your individual goals is the “therapy” that we can provide in any setting.

There is definitely a continuous need for ongoing mental health services in the Northwest Corner. There are many more individuals out there who could benefit from the services of all the service providers represented on the Catchment Area Council. Through our ongoing participation with the council, we aim to evaluate existing services and creatively address local needs as they arise. For anyone interested in learning more about Prime Time House go to www.primetimehouse.org or call 860-618-2479 to schedule a tour. 

Lisa Lynch, MSW

Executive Director

Prime Time House

Torrington

State Republicans are being manipulated

Contrary to their desperate declarations otherwise, I believe Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola and GOP State Central are responsible for the candidates Republicans chose because they manipulate Republican Town Committees (RTCs) behind the scenes before and during the conventions. They later try to destroy any primary challenger.

I heard Labriola spouting “only Foley can win” at the Goshen RTC Pig Roast in 2013. He planted the seed for the gullible, who dutifully cultivated it all the way to the election disaster. They withheld support from Mark Greenberg and other candidates, who were conservatives not susceptible to undue influence. Jerry and his people worked in person and by phone with the RTCs to undermine such candidates, while promoting losers and straw GOP candidates put up by Democrats — anything but a true Republican of principle, experience and knowledge. 

It is a charade, in my opinion, that State Central and the GOP General Assembly members remain neutral until after the convention. And if someone like Greenberg outfoxes State Central by lining up his support a year in advance to win the convention, Jerry and company will petulantly commit the political sin of omission, failing to aggressively support Greenberg’s fight to replace Esty. 

The current Connecticut GOP leadership doesn’t want Republicans of sound principles in the party or as candidates. Look at their new Senate Minority Leader, Len Fasano (R-34), who said Connecticut Republicans are “far different” from the “brand of the national conservative party,” and “I think we need to shed our skin a little bit.” 

That means Connecticut Republican leaders have moved so far left you cannot distinguish them from Democrats, and they are willing to move farther left. Fasano would do more good for the state by admonishing his colleagues against taking jobs with utility companies while in office and by not appointing State Sen. Kevin Witkos (R-8) (employed with the Community Relations Division of Northeast Utilities) to the power position of Senate Republican Leader Pro-Tem. 

Almost no one in the General Assembly is fighting for a prosperous Connecticut that protects the state and federal constitutional rights and freedoms of our citizens. 

The Republican leadership of State Central and the General Assembly have capitulated to the Democrats, protecting GOP minority party positions and self-interests. It is easier to throw in with Democrats than fight and defeat them on the battlefield of facts and ideas. Rep. Jay Case (R-63) said it best at a Torrington RTC meeting I attended early last year when he declared, “It’s kind of fun to be in the minority party ‘cause we don’t have to work very hard.” 

If Jerry and his supporters pick his successor when he steps down in June, the party will continue to lose. If they are responsible for the 11 new GOP members of the General Assembly, then we can expect nothing good from them. The Connecticut GOP leadership has been playing this losing game, election after election, with nothing to show for it. 

Mark A. Lauretano

Lakeville

TriArts was left out

I question that there was no mention of the Sharon Playhouse’s 25th anniversary in last week’s paper, nor any mention of the Playhouse at all. 

TriArts is an important part of the community, an important fixture in the town of Sharon and a place that draws people from three states. In a “year-end overview,” I don’t understand how that can be ignored.

Mardee Cavallaro

Sharon

Remember TriArts

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of TriArts might be as important as measuring icicles. It is an important contribution to the area and deserved mentioning in the year in review. Thank you.

Irene Blagden

Sharon

Why not mention TriArts?

As a long-time resident of Sharon I read with interest your extensive review of Sharon’s activities for the year 2014.  However, I saw no mention whatsoever of TriArts Sharon Playhouse, a theater that has been here for more years than I have.  Where were the kudos about how the theater brings business into the town, where was the mention of the incredible talent that shows up every summer (most certainly in 2014) to delight the whole of Litchfield County.  In short, why was it missing from your review?  

Melinda M. Sweet

Sharon