Let me count the ways Turning Point failed my son.
He was released from Napa State Hospital after being there 9 months. Napa was giving him the Invega shot once a month. He came back clear headed. We started going out to dinner together. We went to the movies. We were having good talks. My son handled his affairs. Then Turning Point became his mental health service.
Six months into their program, Turning Point took my son off Invega shots and put him on Prozac. I fought them tooth and nail. He spiraled down to where he became missing and homeless. Turning Point had told him they had no where to house him. They filed a missing person report on him and didn't tell me. When I filed my own missing person report with Sacramento City Police, I learned of Turning Point's missing person report.
My son stayed homeless for almost 2 years sleeping on Sacramento sidewalks. Of course, I was right there with him. Finally, he was 5150d. When he was being evaluated to see if he was competent for trial — which he wasn't - Turning Point showed up for a meeting with the physicians and were royally chewed out. A doctor told them he could not believe how deteriorated my son was. They were ordered to leave the meeting and Telecare, which is no better, took over.
When my son was 5150d, I persuaded the doctor to put him back on Invega. It's been a long crawl but I'm happy to announce he's doing the best of best when someone has serious mental illness. My son is so much better now. What I love most is we can have conversations with little disorganized speech. I want this to last forever but, as we all know, schizophrenia is selfish.
All of these so called mental health services are shitty. All of them. Turning Point, Telecare, Tcore. They are shitty, shitty, shitty. Excuse the bad words but, honestly people, I can't describe them any other way.
Photo credit: Marta MacLean/Flickr