LETTER: Attack at group home did not deserve headline in the Press

To Ozaukee Press:

I am very upset and disappointed by your news story in the Aug. 6 issue with the headline, “Resident accused of attack at group home enters NGI plea.” 

I have no idea why you thought a person with diminished mental health issues deserves a story with a three-column headline. The Riverwood Group Home is an adult family home that specializes in caring for residents with specific health conditions that prevent them from living on their own. This was not the first time the police have been called there for some disturbances and I’m sure not the last.

There are a litany of other issues that warrant the Press’s attention too numerous to list here. What was the paper’s aim—to call attention to some sort of dangerous issue, real or more likely imagined, in order to sensationalize the unfortunate situation that unfolded in this instance?

Mental health issues are a big problem in the country and shaming people in the newspaper is the last thing a family should have to deal while confronting the problems at hand. Do better, Ozaukee Press.

Laurie Schwalbe

Grafton

Editor’s note: We appreciate the letter writer’s concerns about mental health and are pleased to have this opportunity to share them with Press readers. However, the incident she refers to warranted news coverage because it was being treated as a serious crime by Ozaukee County authorities. The news story reported that the group home resident was bound over for trial in Ozaukee Circuit Court on felony and misdemeanor charges.