(May 5, 2015) Florida police believe that Henry Harriford, 29, killed his 59-year-old mother when she refused to give him money. But Harriford’s brother, Johnathan, says he believes Harriford killed their mother while suffering a psychotic break due to untreated schizophrenia, and that it could have been prevented ("Son desperate for change after mother killed,” WJXT, Apr. 30).
"My mom would tell me stories about [how] my brother would think the VCR is possessed or the VCR is talking to him. Besides that there were a couple of times where he got violent,” said Johnathan.
In response to his brother’s increasingly violent outbursts, Johnathan and his mother desperately tried to get him help. They had him successfully committed to an inpatient facility 17 times because he was considered a threat to himself and others.
But Harriford could only be held for a maximum of 72 hours each time, after which he would be discharged and begin to decompensate again.
Johnathan believes that for people with a severe mental illness, there is simply nowhere to turn. He lays blame for what happened to his mother on the failing mental health system, not his brother.
"Obviously if he was in a rational mind he wouldn't have done anything like this," Jonathan said.
Out of 50 states, Florida comes in second-to-last in per capita mental health spending. The state has not increased its mental health funding in 20 years.
Tragic stories like this will continue until families and individuals struggling with severe psychiatric illness are given somewhere to turn.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center’s bed study to learn more about the trends and consequences of closing public psychiatric hospitals.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.
"My mom would tell me stories about [how] my brother would think the VCR is possessed or the VCR is talking to him. Besides that there were a couple of times where he got violent,” said Johnathan.In response to his brother’s increasingly violent outbursts, Johnathan and his mother desperately tried to get him help. They had him successfully committed to an inpatient facility 17 times because he was considered a threat to himself and others.
But Harriford could only be held for a maximum of 72 hours each time, after which he would be discharged and begin to decompensate again.
Johnathan believes that for people with a severe mental illness, there is simply nowhere to turn. He lays blame for what happened to his mother on the failing mental health system, not his brother.
"Obviously if he was in a rational mind he wouldn't have done anything like this," Jonathan said.
Out of 50 states, Florida comes in second-to-last in per capita mental health spending. The state has not increased its mental health funding in 20 years.
Tragic stories like this will continue until families and individuals struggling with severe psychiatric illness are given somewhere to turn.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center’s bed study to learn more about the trends and consequences of closing public psychiatric hospitals.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.
