I was struck by the irony of two headlines in the Recorder’s Jan. 13 edition: one entitled “Upward Bound program folding,” and the other “ServiceNet health work gets huge boost.” So, on the one hand, a program that has been proven to help disadvantaged youth improve their lives by assistance in applying to colleges is discontinued, and on the other hand, a program designed to support those with mental health and substance abuse issues is given a massive amount of money to deal with the addiction and psychological problems of people who have maybe lost hope in their futures. Hmmm. By all means, let us not continue programs that allow people to better their prospects, and instead of addressing the root causes of addiction and mental illness, let us just put money into dealing with the outcomes. A topsy-turvy way of doing business it seems to me. And incidentally, shame on the GCC administration which appears to have dropped the ball on the Upward Bound program.

Cecilia Tusinski

Leyden

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