Is there somebody I can call? (mentally ill homeless adult)

[AimeeM]

There is a middle aged woman (maybe 50?) who lives near my favorite Starbucks. Well, she did before she was made to leave (understandably - it went from 1 to 10 people, not all of whom are... friendly). While she was living there, I would bring her something to eat and a hot coffee during the winter, an iced drink in the warm months, and some cash. Very nice lady. You can tell she isn't always *with it*, but very nice.

 

Since she was made to leave, I'd only recently seen her walking the highway. Today I saw her across from the Starbucks, at the bus stop. I grabbed her a coffee and slice of cake and took it to her before proceeding to my friend's house for the Easter festivities. She had scratches all over her face. That was nowhere near the worst of it though. She proceeded to tell me how her father ("Dr. Bill Gates"???) owns the shopping center she was staying at, the police arrested her and made her leave it anyway, locked her up for days (twice) and, while she was locked up, the detention center was "shot up" by some mad man... her eyes looked wild and she wasn't focusing. I can't say for SURE that she isn't using drugs, but I'm relatively certain she's simply mentally ill. Her mental health is declining. Big time.

 

I do know that she has been arrested for trespassing several times, so that much is true. Why do they release someone who is CLEARLY mentally ill? I do NOT feel that she is a danger to others, but she is not able to care for herself, that much I do know.

 

Is there any agency I can call on her behalf? She shouldn't be locked up! She also shouldn't be on the streets.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do. You can direct her to a shelter. Many homeless don't want to go in them though because you can't bring drugs or alcohol in to them. Each state will have its own laws on mental health. In my state, she would have to be proven to be a danger to herself or others.

[Ottakee]

It is hard as she would want to have to stay in a shelter as they can't hold them there against their will. The mental health services are hard to get unless the person is an immediate harm to themselves or others.

 

You could try calling local charities and asking if they have ideas on how to help.

 

So many of the chronically homeless people are those with borderline IQs and/or mental health issues.

[AimeeM]

I tried calling our local mental health services - they directed me to 211... who directed me back to the mental health services.

I do believe she is IN danger, because of her mental incompetence... but from others, not necessarily herself (she had scratches and looked a bit "beat up" today).

[Catwoman]

Have you tried calling the general number for your local police department and asking if they have any ideas for you? Maybe they could point you in the direction of an agency that might want to help the woman.

 

I'm so sorry she was all scratched up -- I would hate to think that someone hurt her and that she might be frightened. :(

[Jean in Newcastle]

I tried calling our local mental health services - they directed me to 211... who directed me back to the mental health services.

I do believe she is IN danger, because of her mental incompetence... but from others, not necessarily herself (she had scratches and looked a bit "beat up" today).

 

Unfortunately that doesn't meet the definition of being in danger. The laws usually state that there has to be a "credible and imminent threat".

[AimeeM]

Have you tried calling the general number for your local police department and asking if they have any ideas for you? Maybe they could point you in the direction of an agency that might want to help the woman.

 

I'm so sorry she was all scratched up -- I would hate to think that someone hurt her and that she might be frightened. :(

They keep arresting her and releasing her. I'm not very confident that they would be of much help. I'll call tomorrow - but first I'm going to call the local Catholic Charities and see if they have any resources.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I think that's great that you are looking for help for her. Just be aware that she may not want to go to or benefit from any of these services. She sounds delusional from her stories and she may be afraid to take the help. And she may not want to be on meds that she needs in order to function.

[AimeeM]

I think that's great that you are looking for help for her. Just be aware that she may not want to go to or benefit from any of these services. She sounds delusional from her stories and she may be afraid to take the help. And she may not want to be on meds that she needs in order to function.

I know :(

I do know that she longs for a bed and regular meals - she spoke very longingly of the jail bed and hot meals, saying that she enjoyed that much of her stay at least. I'm praying that her desire for those things would be enough that they could help her... for a while at least.

[Momma2Many66]

I'm so sorry for her, you have such a good heart to want to help her out.

 

God Bless you, I will be praying for you both !

 

For some reason, when you talked about how she longs for a nice bed and hot meals it made me think of that song in my fair lady.

 

The one that goes " All I want is a room somwhere, far away from the cold night air......."

 

And thinking of that song and her out in the cold tonight, makes me cry for her.

 

I will be praying, I hope you can find her the help she needs.

 

I have a brother who is very mentally ill and I so worry about his future and what will become of him when I am not around anymore. I don't want him to end up on the street either, but without insurance or money, that is what typicaly happens.

 

Praying for you both !

[Ravin]

Keep in mind that it's not necessarily that the cops don't want to help. When they arrest her, at least she get food and shelter in jail. Generally, though, they don't hold for long on petty stuff like that and then she's back on the street. People cannot be kept off the street just for their own good, only if they've committed a crime.

 

It's sad, but it's the result that came about when they stopped institutionalizing people against their own will as anything but a last resort when the person is dangerous to herself or others.

[NorthwestMom]

I agree with the others, but you are lovely and have a big heart. I'm glad you are out there worrying about vulnerable people. Thank you.

[AimeeM]

Doesn't it matter at all that while she isn't a direct threat to herself or others, she is so mentally ill that she is INDIRECTLY a threat to herself - as in, she obviously finds herself in situations where someone else will harm her, likely because she isn't *there* mentally enough that she can discern a safe situation from a dangerous one?

[AimeeM]

I guess this is one of those "if I ever win the lottery...." things...

[AimeeM]

Agree with all the above. Dh and I do a lot of work with the homeless, and dh has taken on the task of starting the process to get one of the guys off the street. He has gained a lot of trust in him, and we have helped him get on food stamps, get a state ID so he can get his birth certificate, etc. In talking to the local law enforcement, dh was directed to this guy's uncle. We weren't aware he had any family around, as he has been on the streets for at least 8 years. Turns out that he has some mental illness issues, and that is part of why his family won't take him in.

 

He isn't a danger to himself, but sometimes at night he will wake up and start yelling. Dh asked him why, and he said it was because those dark skinned people are trying to bother him. This man is a VERY dark black man, so for him to say that is a bit odd. Anyway, in the process of taking him to get these things lined up, dh has talked with our local places that deal with mental illness or dependency. Even with his family stating the things he has been through and the way he acts, they won't work to get him any help unless he asks for it. He isn't mean to anyone, and hasn't done anything to harm himself, so unless he voluntarily goes somewhere to be admitted, they aren't going to force the issue.

That's so sad!

A man we used to help behind the gas station couldn't stay at the local shelter any longer because he DIDN'T have a substance abuse problem. He was elderly, formerly employed as a truck driver before his uncontrollable diabetes was diagnosed (I understand that's too risky to employ as a driver) - he simply lost everything and needed a break. There was NONE because he was... clean. I just don't GET it.

 

I've called my younger sister. She's a social worker who works in a home up north for the mentally ill and disabled; while she isn't local to me, I thought she might have some resources I could use.

[sparrow]

We lived in an area years ago that had dozens of individuals like this. Our state closed down state run mental institutions and literally turned them into the streets. Salvation Army was helpful in many of these cases for at least a hot meal, and sometimes even shelter. Do you have a Salvation Army in your area? They may have some ideas.

 

It's so sad. I know that many of the facilities were poorly run and I'm certain there were abuses happening, but I can't see how just closing down the mental facilities here helped anything :(.

[AimeeM]

We lived in an area years ago that had dozens of individuals like this. Our state closed down state run mental institutions and literally turned them into the streets. Salvation Army was helpful in many of these cases for at least a hot meal, and sometimes even shelter. Do you have a Salvation Army in your area? They may have some ideas.

 

It's so sad. I know that many of the facilities were poorly run and I'm certain there were abuses happening, but I can't see how just closing down the mental facilities here helped anything :(.

Most of the charitable shelters seem to be so overwhelmed that they are turning away those without what they deem "fixable" problems - like substance abuse. I'm sure it isn't something they want to do, but if those running the facilities are more versed in substance abuse, and they have no money or resources to hire out for mental health professionals, I can imagine they wouldn't want to put these people in a worse situation by helping in the "wrong way". I do not fault them at all - these are non profits doing the best with what they have... it still sucks though.

 

We do have a Salvation Army and I'm sure she utilizes them for food and clothing sometimes (there is one right next to where she stays), but I think they are unable to help with shelter.

 

And come to think of it, I can't think of one local women's shelter (that isn't specifically a battered/abused women and children's shelter). We have a couple men's shelters I can think of off the top of my head, but not women's shelters.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Doesn't it matter at all that while she isn't a direct threat to herself or others, she is so mentally ill that she is INDIRECTLY a threat to herself - as in, she obviously finds herself in situations where someone else will harm her, likely because she isn't *there* mentally enough that she can discern a safe situation from a dangerous one?

 

Of course it matters. But while the laws are far from perfect and I would like them changed, the laws did come into place to protect people from being locked up all their lives. Many mentally ill people fight tooth and nail to stay out of mental health wards, off of medication etc. It gets complicated when people want to take away their rights to make those decisions on their own even when it does hurt them.

 

Many of these people do have family who would help - if they would allow the family to help. The problem is that they often want the help with no boundaries. And if you've read some of the threads on this board, you know how hard it is for family to finally come to the point where they have to set boundaries so that they won't be brought down too.

 

Many have doctors and prescriptions for medication. But these medications often have bad side effects that make people miserable enough that they would rather deal with the mental illness rather than the side effects. Or people will take the medications just long enough to feel better, decide that they don't need it any more and will stop. Then they don't notice when they start to slip back into the mental illness.