Sitting By The Phone, Waiting For Help

Why are there no mental health services in Eugene? I am a recovering alcoholic with depression and Asperger’s syndrome, and I can’t find a therapist in this town to save my life.

I’m on a waiting list with Chrysalis Behavioral Health Outpatient Services, who have told me that the waiting list is a month long, and if I don’t answer the phone when they call me, they’ll just go to the next person on the list. Am I just supposed to sit by my phone for a month and hope I don’t miss the call?

No, so I have been looking for someone who can help me sooner on Pacific Source’s official website hoping to get help sooner. However, even when I find someone my insurance will pay for, they don’t pick up the phone. I sit there listening to a robot talk for 10 minutes, only to be sent to an answering machine telling me to leave a voicemail and wait for a call back, or that they’re not accepting new patients and to leave a message if I want to join their waitlist.

We have a mental health care crisis in this country and it feels like the people who are supposed to help us don’t care.

Doctors are not heroes, they are not public servants, they are capitalist and all they care about is making money and if they can’t make money off you, they don’t care if you live or die.

Jack Deyo

Eugene

Editor’s note: At the writer’s request, we have allowed the use of a pseudonym to protect his medical privacy.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!