(May 30, 2014) Many of us have been in the same shoes as the Rodger family. I am the mom of a very sick son who has no idea he is ill. He doesn’t believe he needs medicine and is currently in one of the only two hospitals in our state that can help him. I get chills reading the accounts of Elliot Rodger’s story. We too have called the police and the crisis teams for help time and time again, only to have our son politely say he is just fine.
I have always said, “I don't want to be one of those families in the news someday!"
Everyone else who lives around us knows what is going on with our son, but the laws prevent people from actually helping him. Laws need to change so that families can get assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) for their loved ones. We need more beds and facilities so that when people do get access to treatment, there is a place for them to go.
Our son ended up in jail for a minor situation, so let’s also point out that jails have become our new psychiatric hospitals because there is nowhere else for parents to turn. Our son should have been in a hospital. Instead, we had to fight to prove that he was ill. If he had cancer or kidney issues, he would have received treatment in a hospital. Can you imagine a heart patient ending up in jail?
Until people wake up and understand that the mental health system needs a complete overhaul, people with mental illness will continue to get hurt themselves, or hurt someone else.
Right now, families are given the responsibility for caring for their sons and daughters, but their hands are tied when a psychiatric crisis strikes. Then, when someone does get hurt, the family is always the first to get blamed. Yet, in many cases, the family was screaming for help long before the tragedy occurred.
There are many of us who are suffering this awful system. It makes no sense. This shouldn't be a political issue. Our mental health system is in true crisis and yet nobody does anything.
Meanwhile we have more and more people getting hurt or worse.
What will it take to change the laws? Is this the best we can offer to those who need help the most? It’s outrageous. What is it going to take?
Laurel
Pennsylvania
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