(Oct. 5, 2015) Carrie and Charlie Lucas said their 30-year-old son, who has schizoaffective disorder, had been committed to crisis units over a dozen times before he was sent to the state hospital after stealing a car two years ago (“Families blocked from getting help for sick loved ones,” News-Press, Oct. 2).
Their story is typical of many in Florida. Families affected by severe mental illness in the sunshine state are troubled by a mental health system that routinely blocks them from getting help for their sick loved ones, often leaving them untreated and in dire straits.
“For years, he needed long-term involuntary care and we couldn’t get him there,” said Charlie Lucas, who lives in Fort Myers. “That’s not the way it should be, that you’ve got to become a criminal so we can help you.”
Families like the Lucas’ wait for months or longer for a hospital bed to become available while their loved one deteriorates – sometimes leading them to become dangerous to themselves or others.
The Harrifords were another family trying desperately to get their loved one, Sean Harriford, into long-term treatment.
Harriford – a 29-year old diagnosed with schizophrenia – had been involuntarily committed in a mental health facility 17 times as a result of his illness. But he could only be held 72 hours each time, and little to no follow-up care was provided.
Then, in October 2014, police say Harrison killed his mother in their Jacksonville home – a mother who had been asking for help for years.
Harriford’s brother, Jonathan, says he believes his brother was in the midst of a psychotic break when he killed their mother. Now, after her death, Harriford is finally in a state hospital after being found incompetent for trial.
“We treat our pets better than we treat our mentally ill,” Jonathon said. “It’s disgusting.”
While Florida earned a C+ grade for the quality of its laws in our 2014 survey of mental health commitment laws, the state received an F for its inpatient commitment law and another F for its gross underuse of the laws overall.
Florida must make active use of its civil commitment laws to provide treatment to individuals who are experiencing symptoms of psychiatric crisis before tragedy strikes, and reduce the consequences of non-treatment on them, their families and their communities.
Read the 2014 Treatment Advocacy Center report “Mental Health Commitment Laws: A Survey of the States” to learn more.
(Photo: Sean Harriford, left, and his brother, Jonathon)
To comment, visit our Facebook page.