The impressive turnout for the Thursday meeting in Sequim on the planned medication-assisted treatment facility leaves no doubt many people care deeply for their community and the North Olympic Peninsula.
Throughout many years, Sequim has successfully built a vision of itself as a beautiful, safe and welcoming place to retire or raise a family.
Most commendably, to a large degree this vision is true.
However, this vision doesn’t encompass the whole reality in which we all live.
There are many in Sequim, along with the rest of the North Olympic Peninsula, who suffer directly and indirectly from opioid addiction.
They are our friends and neighbors.
This disease doesn’t recognize city boundaries and in myriad ways it makes us all suffer.
Mere dreams of a pure and safe place are no defense.
The best defense is helping to cure its victims and wiping this terrible scourge from our midst.
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Olympic Medical Center and others have invested a lot of effort in their planning and make a very strong case for this facility and this location.
If Sequim is serious about realizing its dream it should advocate for, not against, this facility.
David Mattern,
Port Angeles