Mental Health

Hope House has been in service for almost 14 years! Hard to believe, I know, but we have grown so much. Awkwardly, most of our growth has led to “reactive” policies and procedures being put into place, sometimes to be discontinued almost as quickly as they are formed. Not the organized and thoughtful program we would prefer. Not that it has been all bad---I often say that new volunteers and even new clients often have the best ideas of how we should do something when we are stuck in an old rut. But in our growth, we have come to the point where we really need to start planning and acting strategically and “proactively”.

So what brings this subject up? Well, I just had our second fire drill (which went quite well), we are working on a safety manual, and our staff meetings tend towards concerns about mentally ill patients and the increasing stress level of some of our clients. Some of us are going to be taking a class in Mental Health First Aid so that we may better serve those of our clients who suffer from all sorts of mental health issues. This brings me to the second subject of this blog post: lack of available mental health care.

So now I will vent. Starting with the Community Mental Health Act in the Kennedy administration, and continuing into the 80’s with President Reagan’s turning over the responsibility to the states with block grants, mental health care for those most affected has been gutted. Local communities are often unequipped to deal with the stress of those suffering mental illness and homelessness in their area. Many of our clients, both in the Street Outreach and in Hope House, are clinically mentally ill, with several suffering severe schizophrenia.

So what happens to you if you are severely mentally ill, and you have no family or you have burned your bridges with your family over the years? Well, our government says you have the constitutional right to  choose to be mentally ill and homeless, not take your meds., not understand reality, be preyed upon by others, self-medicate with illegal drugs and sit shivering in the woods in the winter because you don’t trust anyone in the strange world you live in. My question is—if you are mentally ill, do you have the wherewithal to make the decision to not take medication, seek treatment and wander the streets?

An example: Anna, a beautiful 40 year old schizophrenic woman, homeless, believes everyone is raping her, cutting her baby’s head off (we don’t think she even has a baby), stealing her fortune….on and on. She speaks loudly, often profanely and says horrific things that have brought her to be a persona non grata on the bus, at the Rainbow Center, at the Mission. We still see her at Hope House, we work with her, but she breaks our heart. Where is she sleeping in winter? Where does she think she is?

Another example: Billy, a slight, quiet man in his 30’s, who is also schizophrenic. I say he is quiet, but he is usually mumbling to himself and to the clothing and the walls, etc. Occasionally he has a bad day and gets quite loud in his talking, but will quiet down if it is pointed out to him. Billy is a nice man who would be so much better off with his medication, but who will remind him to take it? Who will help keep him safe?

My heart breaks for these wonderful and unfortunate people, and I ask myself, why am I so blessed? And why is it so hard for this world to share the blessings with all her citizens?