(Jan. 28, 2015) Kathy Bruno was hopeful that her son Eric, 24, would finally receive treatment for his schizophrenia after his arrest in 2013. But prison was not the answer she had hoped for, and now Kathy is advocating in the nation’s capital to save her son. (“Erie woman advocates mental health reform in D.C.,” Erie Times-News, Jan. 27).
Officers arrested Eric nearly two years ago after he caused a disturbance in an Erie, Pennsylvania police station while in a psychiatric crisis.
Bruno was initially relieved, thinking he would be sent to a psychiatric hospital given his obvious need. “I thought, ‘Thank God, he is going to get some help and he did not hurt anybody,’” said Kathy.
Instead Eric spent months in the Erie County Prison. Prison staff watched him arguing with himself in front of a mirror in his cell for hours at a time. But despite his obvious need, they could not force Eric to take medication.
Eric was eventually transferred to a hospital for criminal defendants with severe mental illness and stabilized with the help of medication. However, he soon regressed after suffering a concussion during a fight with another defendant.
Bruno shared her story yesterday in front of Congressman Murphy and mental health advocates.
"I am trying to get them to hear," Bruno said. "It is hard to get your adult family member to get treatment if they do not believe they are sick."
"My hope for Eric is that he gets the right type of help,” she continued. “He has to take his medication and on medication he can have a good life. Maybe not a normal life, but a good life.”
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