the passionate ailurophile

Yesterday, I talked about some upcoming stories on the local news. Here’s the update I promised…

Field Trips For Sexual Deviants. The link will take you to a page where you can watch a video of the piece that was shown on TV last night.

They’re not in prison or on probation as I first thought, they are mentally ill patients who are also sex offenders. And to make matters even worse, they are NOT always properly supervised, as the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health claims that they are. First of all, I feel that there should be a lower ratio of supervisors to patients, right now I think they are assigned too many for one person to handle. Also, at the circus outing that the story focused on, investigative reporter Mike Beaudet’s hidden camera captured one of these so-called *supervisors*…sound asleep through the entire performance. How charming…our tax dollars at work.

I do understand the need for mental patients to get stimulation, and taking them out can be beneficial. I have no qualms with that. I remember the very first New Hampshire Fisher Cats game we went to, back in 2004, the first year the team existed. They were playing in the old Gill Stadium then, while their new ballpark was being built.

Anyhoo, seated in the row right in front of us was a group of adults with Down’s syndrome…at least that’s what they looked like to me. There were six of them, and two people who were supervising them. From what I gathered from what they were saying, these people lived in a small group home that was run by a husband and wife, who were the ones who were there taking care of them.

These people require a LOT of attention and supervision. And it isn’t easy. Many years ago, I used to babysit a 12 year old boy with Down’s, just so his single mom could get out of the house and have a break from taking care of him. So I know first-hand how difficult this is.

But this couple did a great job of supervising the group. They were never left alone…the husband and wife took turns getting food for them, and if someone had to go to the bathroom, either the husband or wife went with them (it was a mixed group of men and women). They weren’t allowed to get up and go anywhere alone. And they ended up leaving after six innings, because they don’t have very long attention spans, and they were starting to get restless.

They were a well-behaved group, they didn’t bother anyone, and the couple taking care of them did their jobs well. We didn’t mind sitting near them at all.

I don’t know if any of those Down’s people were sexual deviants or not, but since they were well supervised and didn’t bother anyone, I wasn’t really thinking about it.

But as for the mental patients who are KNOWN sexual deviants, not only do they need to be better supervised, they should NOT be taken to places where there are many families with children about. This would include not only the circus, but ball games, as well. Maybe it would be better if these people were given *stimulation* on the grounds of the mental hospital that they’re in, rather than taking them out in public, where they could re-offend.

So, Massachusetts parents, listen up! Be VERY careful if you take your kids to Disney On Ice or something like that during school vacation week (which is next week). Do NOT let them leave their seats unaccompanied. Don’t let them out of your sight. The Department of Mental Health plans to continue these outings, and there’s no guarantee that the patients will be properly supervised. So please…BE CAREFUL!