HHI mayor’s comments at long 278 corridor meeting leave more questions than answers | Opinion

Please explain

Mayor Alan Perry needs to explain himself to the citizens of Hilton Head about his remarks at the end of a recent six-hour-plus meeting at which the massive half-a-billion-dollar 278 corridor project was approved.

At the end of the special Town Council meeting, Mayor Perry had his Richard Nixon “I-am-not-a-crook” moment when he said, “No, I am not being blackmailed. No, I am not being paid off. And no, it is not about my ego.”

I am not aware of any such allegation being made on social media and no other council members made such a statement to justify their vote.

The mayor did say he has lost friends over this issue, but why did he feel compelled to make that Nixon-like statement?

Please explain, Mayor Perry.

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

Richard Bisi, HHI

Security failure

It doesn’t take an expert in security protection to see that the existing measures applied to protect a high level government official running for president did not work.

Further, now we learn that the 20-year-old sniper with basic rifle skills actually flew his own drone, undetected, just two hours prior to his attempt to shoot an ex-president.

At a minimum, one drone in the sky above the staging area of the podium operated by a Secret Service agent would have easily spotted the sniper on the roof and would have prevented this catastrophe.

Clearly, a child operating a $200 drone in the sky would have been more successful than swarms of security agents on the ground and placed in other elevated locations which evidently proved ineffective, not to mention costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.

Consequently, this catastrophic security failure undoubtedly resulted in Security Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation.

Dan Shinder, HHI

Project 2025 and the unhoused

One of the nation’s most widely embraced strategies to combat homelessness — getting people housed first and then addressing other needs, could be impacted by Project 2025.

Project 2025 has been characterized as a Christian nationalist plan that has the potential to erode the separation of church and state.

Like administrations before it, the Biden White House has employed this housing-first approach, but Project 2025 could roll back the model supported by many housing advocates.

The housing-first approach was created in the 1990s to help unhoused veterans.

Critics claim that HUD programs discourage the formation of traditional families, and keep people trapped in poverty. Homelessness is a multifaceted issue and is a growing problem among the elderly and disabled.

If the next administration adopted the HUD “reset” outlined in Project 2025, it could place federal funding at risk for programs that combat homelessness.

Now that cities are empowered to criminalize people sleeping outside, Project 2025 could risk placing more Americans in harsh circumstances.

Meta Griffin, Spartanburg

Call 988

Note: The writer is CEO of Three Rivers Behavioral Health.

July marked two years since our nation launched 988, the easy-to-remember nationwide mental health crisis hotline.

Since being launched, 988 has received more than 8 million calls from people in distress. This number is confidential, effective and available to everyone via phone, text or chat.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:

– 988 callers connect quickly with trained crisis counselors;

– Less than 2 percent of 988 calls require response from emergency services though many callers report that their call prevented them from taking their own life;

– Numerous 988 studies indicate that the majority of callers were significantly more likely to feel more hopeful after speaking with a crisis counselor;

If someone you know is struggling emotionally, help them get the care they need by calling 988 or seeking help at a licensed behavioral health facility.

Shannon Marcus, Columbia