OUR 2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN TO ADDRESS SMI UPDATED by Dede Ranahan

This plan was developed by dozens of SMI individuals, families, professionals, journalists, and other advocates from across the country. The five issues included in the plan were voted on from a long list of priorities as top priorities. If you’d like a copy of the plan, a cover letter, and an extended list of SMI needs, email me: dede@soonerthantomorrow.com. I’ll send you the documents so you can forward them to those within your sphere of influence — local, state, and national.

As the number of candidates in the 2020 presidential election cycle continues to decline, it’s important to thank those who’ve dropped out but developed good plans that include SMI — Steve Bullock, Kamala Harris — and to refocus our efforts on the remaining candidates — Republican and Democrat. Right now Buttigieg and Klobuchar have good plans. Warren and Booker are working on plans. The White House will be hosting a summit on Transforming Mental Health Treatment to Combat Homelessness, Violence and Substance Abuse on December 19. Thank you for your help.

2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN
TO ADDRESS SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI)
(Updated December 3, 2019)

FOR ALL 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
PLEASE ADDRESS THESE TOPICS IN YOUR CAMPAIGN
 APPEARANCES  AND DEBATES

1. RECLASSIFY SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI) FROM A BEHAVIORAL CONDITION TO WHAT IT IS, A NEUROLOGICAL MEDICAL CONDITION.

WHY RECLASSIFICATION IS IMPORTANT
Reclassification will unlock more research funding and help eliminate discrimination in treatment, insurance reimbursement, and the perception of SMI as “behavioral” condition. SMI is a human rights issue. NIMH ranks SMI among the top 15 causes of disability worldwide with an average lifespan reduction of 28 years.

PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
* Create a cabinet position exclusively focused on SMI.
* Push for Congressional appropriations to include schizophrenia in a CDC program that collects data on the prevalence and risk factors of neurological conditions in the US population.

2. REFORM THE HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA)

WHY HIPAA REFORM IS IMPORTANT
Overly strict HIPAA laws make it extremely difficult for families and caregivers to partner in the treatment of their loved ones, resulting in important life-saving medical information gaps. By eliminating this barrier, family support will be strengthened, reducing the chance of relapse, homelessness, imprisonment, and death.

PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
* Work with legislators to change HIPAA law to ensure mental health professionals are legally permitted to share and receive critical diagnostic criteria and treatment information with/from parents or caregivers of SMI.

3. REPEAL MEDICAID’S INSTITUTES FOR MENTAL DISEASE EXCLUSION (IMD)

WHY IMD REPEAL IS IMPORTANT
IMD repeal will increase the availability of psychiatric inpatient beds. The IMD exclusion is not only discriminatory to those suffering from neurological brain disorders, it is a leading cause of our national psychiatric hospital bed shortage. It prohibits Medicaid payments to states for those receiving psychiatric care in a facility with more than 16 beds who are 21-65, the age group with the most SMI.

PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
* Work with legislators to repeal the IMD exclusion.

4. PROVIDE A FULL CONTINUUM OF CARE

WHY A FULL CONTINUUM OF CARE IS IMPORTANT
A continuum of care insures that SMI patients receive early intervention at all stages of their illnesses, long-term care when needed, and follow-up treatment (medications and therapies) when they’re released. It reduces visits to jails, ER’s and hospitals, homelessness, and morgues. A continuum of care provides life-time management.

PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
* Create federal incentives to states which are addressing a full array of inpatient, outpatient, and supportive housing care.

5. DECRIMINALIZE SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI)

WHY DECRIMINALIZATION OF SMI IS IMPORTANT
People suffering with other neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia can get treatment promptly without being kicked out of their homes to wander the streets until they are arrested and put in jail or prison rather than a hospital. Serious mental illness is the only disease where the doors to treatment are shut unless a crime is committed. This is pure and simple discrimination with the disastrous results we see in our country today — homelessness, incarceration, the disintegration of families, and death.

PRESIDENTIAL ACTION
* Work with legislators and others to change “must be a danger to self or others” criteria.
* Work with legislators and others to change involuntary commitment criteria and redefine it in objective terms based on scientific medical need for treatment. Psychosis, like a stroke, is a traumatic brain injury and needs immediate treatment for the best outcome.

Note: Tomorrow I’ll post the extended list of recommendations.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO SOONER THAN TOMORROW READERS by Dede Ranahan

Dear Sooner Than Tomorrow Readers,

It’s Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. I received a Thanksgiving card today from a reader. She thanked me for the blog, and for my book, Sooner Than Tomorrow. I want to thank her for reminding me that readers are really out there. I see the analytics for my blog and I know I’m reaching readers all over the world. But, sometimes, it feels a little surreal. Sitting in my den, poking around on my keyboard, it’s difficult to know if I’m reaching anyone. And more importantly, if I’m reaching anyone in a meaningful way. Hearing back from readers plugs me in and gives me energy and the will to continue. Thank you, Jan. Thank you blog followers.

Right now, I’m thinking of Travis in his cell, alone in solitary confinement. I’m thinking of Marcy, the woman looking for a “patio or a porch” to get in out of the winter weather, alone with her dog and her determination. I’m thinking of my friend, Gina Burns, who passed this month after a long battle with multiple serious illnesses. She was a brave and fierce advocate for SMI. I’m thinking of Sherry in Arizona and the long and heroic battle she and her son have waged against an unrelenting foe — schizophrenia. I’m thinking of Scott and Leslie Carpenter and their exhaustive and ongoing efforts to get the SMI message to our 2020 presidential candidates. I’m thinking of Jeanne Allen Gore and her work to form a coalition - The National Shattering Silence Coalition - to create a nationwide voice for people in the front lines against SMI.

I’m thinking of SMI advocates Teresa Pasquini, Kathy Day, Linda Mimms, Deborah Geesling, Linda Rippee, CJ Hanson, Laura Pogliano, Ron Powers, Dj Jaffe, Janet Hays, Martie Bessler, Anne Francisco, Amanda Woodward, Heidi Franke, Marie Abbott, Alison Monroe, Amy Kerr, Alise Bernard, Pamela Armstrong, May Ann Renz, Kathy Baker, Katherine Brooks, Kelli Butler, Mara Briere, Darlene Watkins, Tama Bell, Barb Cobb, Alison Bernard, Ray and Connie Maternick, Cheryl Vitelli, Kimberlee West, Carole McAfee, Christine Herold, Donna Erickson, Tamara Lee, Lori Daubenspeck, Katherine Dering, Eric Diaz, Linda Deslauriers, Rebecca Reinig, Irene Wells, Gail Freedman, Ruth Fisher, Deborah Fabos, Laura Buoni, Allilsa Fernandez, Sheila Ganz, Gloria Hill, Angie Geyser, Staci Hershman, Channin Williams, Iris Cassaloom, Susan Inman, Mary Butler, Ingrid Dempsey, Jane O’Malley, Judy Bracken, Jerri Clark, Stacy Kollias, Amy Kerr, Mary Troy, Mary Sheldon, Sherri McGimsey, Nae Nae, Nancy Moody, Lynn Nanos, Kelli Nidey, Nancy Jones, Nikki Landis, Craig Williams, Christi Ann, Linda Olivia, Paula Quertermous, Penney Jo Dickey, Den Proudley, Ruth Fisher, Walt Stawicki, Sandy Turner, Laurie Turley, Cheri Van Sant, Liza Long, Montana Witsend, Karen Yachts, and so many more I’ve come to know in the last few years through my blog and through Facebook. I’m thankful for each and every one of you. You inspire me and give me courage.

Finally, on the eve of this Thanksgiving 2019, I’m thinking of my family — my beautiful daughters and their husbands and children. I love each of you. And, of course, I’m thinking of my son, Patrick. I’m so thankful I got to be your mom. I’m so thankful the last words we heard each other say were, “I love you, Pat.” And, “I love you, Mom.” You’re the reason I keep fighting for SMI care that is competent, compassionate, and comprehensive. When I get discouraged about how long it’s taking to bring SMI into the national discourse, I remember your favorite phrase. It’s almost like I hear your voice — “Akamai777, Mom.” (Wit, wisdom, and a big hug from the universe.)

With SMI, holidays (and everything else) are never predictable. Today, I hope all of you, and your SMI loved ones, enjoy a day of togetherness and serenity. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Love, Dede

KAMALA'S PLAN TO ADDRESS THE MENTAL HEALTH CARE CRISIS by Kamala Harris

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has a plan for mental health/illness care. It’s published on her website.
https://kamalaharris.org/policies/mental-health/full-policy/

Her plan includes the top five prioritized issues addressed in the *2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI) developed by dozens of SMI individuals, families, professionals, and journalists from across the country. Sooner Than Tomorrow welcomes mental health/illness plans from all 2020 presidential candidates.

Kamala’s Plan to Address the Mental Health Care Crisis and Provide Mental Health Care on Demand | Full Policy

Our country is in a mental health care crisis. Over 45 million adults—nearly 20% of all U.S. adults—experienced mental illness in 2017. Suicide is on the rise, increasing 30% or higher in 25 states from 1999 to 2016. As natural catastrophes and man-made traumatic events like shootings devastate our communities, post-traumatic reactions in children and adults follow.

Yet even as nearly 60% of Americans seek mental health services for themselves or loved ones, more than half of the adults with mental illness—nearly 27 million—did not receive treatment in 2017.

In 2020, mental health care justice is on the ballot. We need to act. As president, Kamala will make sure we deliver mental health on demand—that is, she will provide services to all Americans who need it, whenever they need it, and wherever they need it. She’ll cover mental health on demand via telemedicine through her Medicare for All plan, providing direct access to mental health care professionals—with no deductibles and no copays.

She’ll double the number of treatment beds nationwide, prioritizing states with shortages including Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and Michigan, so persons with mental illness can receive the high levels of care they need.

As we improve mental health services across the country, she’ll make sure we meet the unique needs of vulnerable populations, including our veterans and our children. For example, she’ll double DoD and VA research dollars to address and treat PTSD, military sexual trauma, and traumatic brain injury.

And Kamala knows that children’s earliest life experiences, from poverty to exposure to violence and other trauma, have profound effects on their brain development and long-term health and safety, and that early intervention is key to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to develop to their full potential and become resilient when traumatic events strike. That’s why she’ll fight for evidence-based screenings for childhood trauma to diagnose and treat mental illness as early as possible.

HERE’S HOW SHE’LL DO IT:

Focus federal funding on needed mental health research. Kamala knows that medical research into new treatments for mental illness is imperative. As Dr. Kenneth Paul Rosenberg writes, “It’s all about finding good treatments: Expand and improve scientific research because the best solutions are prevention and cure.” That’s why she’ll direct federal funds to support efforts to seek better treatment for mental illness and research on mental health issues more broadly. She’ll:

Dedicate Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block grants to fund data collection on rates of homelessness, arrests, incarceration, violence, and repetitive hospitalization among persons with serious mental illness (SMI).

Direct the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to focus research on adults with SMI between 18 and 64 years old, particularly on use of medication and other interventions that reduce homelessness, arrest, incarceration, and unnecessary hospitalization.

Direct NIMH to focus research on the causes and treatment of mental health issues for developing children while also focusing on the approaches that enhance brain health in the developing child.

*2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI) Reclassify serious mental illness from a behavioral condition to what it is, a neurological medical condition. Support efforts to reclassify schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and bipolar disorders. While these conditions are currently classified as “behavioral,” a classification that accentuates their neuroscience will improve access to treatment and research funding.

Expand coverage of and access to mental health services.

Kamala will appoint a Secretary of Health and Human Services who will work to dismantle artificial roadblocks to mental health benefits, such as surprise billing for out-of-network providers or higher charges for mental health services, and will commit to expanding the mental health workforce and enforcing mental health parity laws.

Medicare for All coverage of mental health. Medicare plans today do not cover mental health and addiction services equally. Kamala’s Medicare for All plan will:

Provide mental health on demand, covering mental health care services provided through phone or video.

Require parity for mental health (and require private Medicare plans to do the same).

Cover all medically necessary services, including mental health and substance use disorder treatment—with no deductibles and no copays.

Provide for home- and community-based comprehensive long-term services and support, so that people will be able to access mental health and developmental disability care in their communities.

Close the gap in reimbursement rates between psychiatric providers and other medical professionals.

Improved conditions for the mental health workforce. A shortage of mental health professionals harms American families and communities. It means that people in rural areas are 5 times more likely to have an undiagnosed mental illness or suffer from a severe mental illness that goes untreated. And nearly half of American adults have had to or know someone who has had to travel more than one hour for mental health care appointments. Kamala knows that increasing the number of providers and their efficacy, and lowering their caseloads, will minimize provider stress and turnover. That’s why she’ll:

Invest in telemedicine to provide direct access to mental health care professionals so all Americans can get mental health care whenever and wherever they need it (Mental Health Telemedicine Expansion Act).

Authorize an educational loan forgiveness program for mental health professionals that agree to practice in areas with a shortage of mental health professionals (Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act).

Fund programs for more nurse practitioners and physician assistants to certify as psychiatric specialists.

Community-based rehabilitation. It can be difficult for Americans to access needed mental health care in their communities. Kamala will continue and expand the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Medicaid program to ensure access to coordinated mental health and medication-assisted treatment services for both mental illnesses and co-occurring opioid use disorders. Kamala will also instruct the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) to support expansion of Clubhouse psychosocial rehabilitation communities (non-clinical, therapeutic, community-based working groups to support the recovery and wellbeing of adults with a history of mental illness).

Focus on veterans. Over 50% of returning veterans who have PTSD do not receive mental health care due to lack of access or other barriers. Seventeen veterans die by suicide each day. Even more distressing, our female veterans are 9 times more likely to experience PTSD if they have had a military sexual trauma (MST) at any point during active duty. As president, Kamala will prioritize the needs of America’s veterans, just as they’ve prioritized the needs of our nation. She’ll:

Focus the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (VA) on treating the invisible wounds of service: PTSD, MST, and traumatic brain injury. She’ll give these agencies the resources they need by doubling their research dollars to identify and treat our veterans.

According to the National Academy of Medicine, VA medical centers struggle with staffing, physical infrastructure, and providing timely mental health care. Veterans can face difficulties scheduling appointments. And VA mental health providers themselves often experience high levels of stress, burnout, and turnover. Kamala’s investments in mental health on demand will streamline appointment systems and address access issues.

She’ll accelerate and increase funding to community-based resources that expand awareness of post-deployment mental health care access. No one should suffer in silence or shame.

Women veterans are the fastest-growing segment of the veterans population. Kamala will direct the VA to streamline its Women Veterans Health Care Program to provide comprehensive mental health care services throughout and immediately upon return from duty.

Expand coverage for other vulnerable populations, including Native Americans. Kamala knows that as we improve access to mental health care, we have to address the unique mental health disparities historically marginalized and vulnerable populations face. For example, Native American young adults between 18 and 24 years old die by suicide at higher rates than any other ethnic or racial group. Kamala recognizes that income level, racial segregation, food insecurity, access to safe drinking water and clean air, and other social determinants directly impact health. And she understands that we can narrow these unconscionable disparities among vulnerable populations by providing flexible options to see qualified mental health professionals. Kamala will create a $100 million Tribal Emergency Fund for SAMHSA to administer, so tribal communities can address these substance abuse and mental health crises in culturally competent ways.

Increase access to hospitals, housing, and other care facilities.

Persons with mental illness need adequate access to treatment. Many need adequate access to hospitals and housing to prevent homelessness and criminalization. Providers need adequate facilities to provide and sustain the high levels of care their patients need. Kamala will work to increase beds, facilities, and other services to improve patient outcomes and minimize provider stress and burnout.

*2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI). Repeal medicaid’s institutes for mental disease exclusion (IMD) Repeal the Institutions of Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion. The IMD exclusion precludes Medicaid funding for adults receiving care in psychiatric facilities with more than 16 beds, and has also exacerbated a severe shortage of acute psychiatric care beds nationwide. Repealing the IMD exclusion will reduce the number of Medicaid patients who end up in already strained general hospital emergency rooms when they need acute psychiatric care.

Kamala will double the number of treatment beds nationwide, prioritizing states with shortages including Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and Michigan, so persons with mental illness can receive the high levels of care they need.

*2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI). Provide a full continuum of Care. Provide a range of housing options for patients who need sustained support to remain as healthy as possible. For example, Kamala will invest in building psychiatric assisted living campuses on mental health institutes to provide services at multiple levels of care, from secure and acute facilities to supported independent living.

*2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI). Decriminalize serious mental illness. End the mental illness to jail pipeline.

Our profoundly under-resourced mental health care system means the criminal justice system continues to be the frontline response for people whose primary need is mental health care. A national survey of sheriffs’ offices and police departments found that in 2017, law enforcement spent 20% of staff time and 10% of their budgets responding to and transporting persons with mental illness.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, 25% of people arrested and in the criminal justice system have serious mental illnesses (SMIs)—mental, behavioral, or emotional disorders, such as schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder, that substantially interfere with major life activities. And more than 2 million people with SMIs are arrested annually. That’s why Kamala will invest in programs that divert persons with mental illness from the criminal justice system and fight to prevent re-incarceration and robust training for law enforcement, mental health providers, and other first responders to those in crisis. Specifically, she’ll:

Increase federal, state, and local grants that support Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, which integrates specialized police, mental health professionals, EMS, 911 systems, and hospital emergency rooms in response to mental health crisis calls. The community-based CIT approach has effectively reduced re-offending, improved mental health outcomes, and increased diversion to psychiatric services rather than jails.

She’ll also increase federal funding for hiring mental health professionals to accompany police officers in responding to calls for individuals in mental crises.

End solitary confinement, ensuring alternative therapeutic and rehabilitative mechanisms are available to protect the safety of individuals in prisons and of prison staff and working to prevent the violence associated with correctional segregation.

Provide returning citizens with comprehensive health services—including mental health and addiction treatment both in and out of custody—to ensure successful reintegration into society.

Expand funding for Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs, which prescribe by court order home- and community-based treatment for persons with a serious mental illness (SMI). These individuals sometimes fail to comply or cannot comply with treatment and become homeless, are arrested, or otherwise deteriorate without treatment. Multiple studies have shown that AOT effectively improves treatment outcomes, lowers risk of arrest, violent behavior, and other criminal justice encounters, and reduces homelessness, all at lower costs and with fewer restrictions than inpatient treatment. Kamala will:

Continue and expand the funding streams for AOT included in the 21st Century Cures Act.

Instruct the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to authorize Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for AOT court costs.

Educate the judiciary on AOT.

Treat mental illness early.

Nearly 7.7 million children and teens in the country—about one in seven—have at least one treatable mental health disorder, including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Half of these cases of mental illness begin by age 14. Half of these young people did not receive needed treatment in 2016.

Early diagnosis and treatment of mental illness is key. While most serious mental illnesses do not begin until a person’s late teens or early twenties, early intervention can prevent severe and disabling effects of serious emotional disturbances in children. A tier model that targets both treatment and prevention will help ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop to their full potential and become resilient when traumatic events strike.

Kamala’s Medicare for All plan covers all Medicaid benefits to children. Under her plan, cost won’t bar young people from accessing treatment and mental health services as soon as they need it.

Kamala will ensure all children have access to a nurse and social worker at school, increasing the workforce capacity for the large number of youth requiring mental health care.

She will invest in evidence-based mental health practices for every child in the country, including broad screening for childhood trauma combined with systemic programs that target those at risk, as well as treatment to mitigate potential health impacts.

*2020 GRASSROOTS FIVE-PART PLAN FOR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI). Reform the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Amend HIPAA to ensure family members can adequately support persons with mental illness.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and accompanying regulations aim to both protect the privacy of individuals’ identifiable health information and also establish when to make health information available for treatment or other necessary purposes. However, HIPAA can pose a barrier for family and friends to support and help care for loved ones with mental illnesses. That’s why Kamala will work with Congress to:

Codify that HIPAA permits health providers to receive information from family members.

Protect health providers who disclose protected health information if they make such a disclosures out of a good faith belief that it was necessary to enhance the health, safety, or welfare of the person involved or the general public. Family and friends supporting persons with mental illness often bring home their loved ones with no knowledge of the diagnosis, treatment plan, medication, signs of deterioration, or even suicidal or homicidal ideations. Nondisclosure can therefore put persons with mental illness and the family and friends who support them at risk and hamper recovery support.

Permit disclosure of “financial” and “treatment and care” health information to family members that provide housing, case management, and transportation support to loved ones with mental illnesses.

Integrate behavioral health information (medical history, lab results, medication lists, and treatment plans) with physical health information in a person’s health records to better coordinate patient care and improve outcomes.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LETTERS TO TRAVIS by Dede Ranahan

Yesterday, I drove to Ione, California to visit Travis Christian (BB8099) at Mule Creek State Prison. Travis is in solitary confinement for one-and-a-half to two years. He lives in a tiny, walled cell with a bed and some lockers. He’s allowed “yard” time three days a week — one half hour in an 8x10 foot cage. He attends “groups” a few times a week — again in a one-person cage. Sometimes the group watches a movie. Travis says they’re going to discuss stress management. (I’d like to know how to manage stress in solitary confinement 24/7.)

I’ve been visiting Travis once a month since October 2018. (You can read about my visits here.) I knew of Travis’ s mother, Kathy, through this blog. At first, Travis was in prison in Southern California, then he was transferred to Folsom, California which is about 45 minutes from where I live. Now, in Ione, the trip takes an hour and a half. Prison staff told Kathy that Travis was transferred because Folsom is over-crowded. A couple days before he was moved, a prisoner in Travis’s cell block hanged himself.

Travis originally went to prison for stabbing a man he thought was Satan. He ended up in solitary after punching a med tech he thought was Satan. Now he’s in trouble again for attacking his cell mate because he believed he was Satan. A recurring delusion. “I thought I needed to rid the world of evil,” Travis says. The back story, this time, is that Travis decided he was “fine,” went off his meds with prison permission (“It’s his right,”), and ended up in the prison hospital. Kathy had pleaded with prison staff to not take Travis off his meds. “We’ve been down this road before,” she told them, “and it always ends badly.” The staff said they would monitor Travis. So much for that. Now Travis is facing an attempted murder charge and many more years in prison.

When Travis walked into the visiting booth (he sat behind glass and we talked on a phone) he seemed dazed. He’d had no human conversation in over a week. He said, “I’m okay,” and then he teared up. “I’m being punished. They try to break you in here. Dede, sometimes I lose it. I want to give up.” As we talked, Travis began to relax. “I miss human conversation so much. Thank you for coming.”

Travis did have some good news. “Friday, I got over 20 letters — from all over the United States. I couldn’t believe it when the guard handed me my mail. ‘All this? For me?’ People wrote that they read about me on your blog. They said, ‘Hang in there. Do not lose hope.’ I was overcome. I broke down. I couldn’t read for a while. I couldn’t do anything.”

I asked, “Travis, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, can you ask to see your doctor?”

“No, Dede, it doesn’t work that way. I see my doctor once a week at a scheduled time.”

I told Travis his mom has ordered a TV for him and it should arrive in a week or so. “I’m counting on that TV,” he said. “To get my mind on other things. To feel more alive. I have to hold on until I get that TV. And my property. They haven’t given me my things from Folsom — some books and photos and stuff. I don’t know when they’ll give them to me.”

At times, each of us was quiet — trying to think of something positive to talk about. “All we have is this moment,” Travis said. “Let’s talk about now. How are you doing, Dede?”

As our visit came to an end Travis asked, “When are you coming again?”

“Travis, I’ll keep coming on the second Sunday.” Through the glass, I blew him a kiss.

On the drive home, I opened my car windows and sucked in the outside — the brown California grasses, the clusters of black oaks, the herds of cows and goats. I reflected on my visit with Travis. The prison felt surreal. Like the twilight zone. The guard at the motor entrance smiled and told me, “Have a good day.” The staff attendee in the visiting area was pleasant. He apologized that my 11 a.m. visit with Travis began one half hour late. A baby in a pink headband cooed on an inmate’s (her father’s?) lap. Couples hugged and bought hamburgers from vending machines. Children, polished and shiny, sat politely in family circles. Travis entered the visiting booth with his hands behind his back. He inserted them into a slot in the door to wait for a guard to remove the handcuffs. As he described his cell and his dreary routine, the juxtaposition of normal and bizarre jarred my body and my senses.

Travis is alone. Totally alone. One of many, throughout our country, who are isolated for days, months, and years. Anything could happen. Additionally challenged by his serious mental illness, Travis could lose the will to survive. He needs to know the world hasn’t forgotten him. Right now, I’m a connection. I’ll be there for him as long as I can be. He needs me, and you, and all of us.

At the end of the day, we’re lucky if we can help one person. One person at a time…

Travis’s mailing address:
Travis Christian BB8099
C-12-230
Mule Creek State Prison
PO Box 409060
Ione, California 95640

Travis intends to respond to everyone who writes to him. Sometimes he’s out of paper or stamps or envelopes. His writing tool is a pen filler — the internal part of a pen. The casing is removed. It’s difficult to write with the filler. Travis tries to wrap paper around it to make it thicker and easier to hold. “I’m still figuring out how to do this,” he says. You can send books to Travis but only by ordering and shipping them to him from Amazon. He’s reading a fantasy book right now because “It takes me out of here.”

A THANK YOU FOR OUR SMI PLAN FROM THE HOMELESS IN SACRAMENTO by Marcella Brown

With a political focus, I wasn’t expecting to hear from these constituents. God bless them. Marcella Brown writes this response to our grassroots effort to bring serious mental illness to the attention of 2020 presidential candidates and other influencers.

As one of the 10 million SMI individuals fighting, with all we've got and all we are every single day, for the life and death services we are being denied, thank you, Dede Moon Ranahan and team, for your unbelievable commitment to advocacy for friends you have not yet met.

We are fighting for our lives, and losing the battle quickly by our opponents debilitating us in the denial of our most basic needs — food, shelter & clothing. In Sacramento, we’ve been cut off from all access to water and shelter from the sun. We’re hunted down like criminals on the run, and kept from any place that would allow us time to rest. Restaurants are ordered by the city to waste hundreds of pounds of food daily, just to keep us from access to what others have thrown away. For most of us, that dumpster food is vital for us to survive.

We realize we are a heavy burden on our more fortunate and very hard-working brothers and sisters and we are truly sorry for that. We feel terrible being an eye-sour and unclean but we are denied any alternative.
And, if I may be so bold as to speak for all of us without prior permission, we would rather just lie-down-and-die most days of this battle. We are exhausted and out-numbered, we are dehumanized and dejected, and most days we are humiliated and without hope.

But something, beyond our control and better judgment, kicks in and keeps us fighting for our lives, as we are drowning in an ocean of tears shed for those we are seeing daily lose their battle for life — our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers, our neighbors and our confidants, our friends and chosen family who gave all they were to try and live.

Each of you being willing to do what is right, even when no one else is doing it, are our heroes and our inspiration. You are our only hope for our voices have been muffled and our hearts weakened by the day. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ❤

In humble gratefulness, we dedicate this song to you...
"Safe Place to Land" — Sara Bareilles and John Legend
https://youtu.be/Ht2NCrlghS4

Read these statistics. Click on the link below.

Up 19%, homelessness in Sacramento County hits 5,570. Officials ‘frustrated’ but hopeful

HAPPY PIC

Steps to somewhere.

Hope you have a good weekend everybody!

WE'RE THINKING INCORRECTLY ABOUT SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS by Mary Rossell

Eight-hundred-ninety-seven days. That’s how many days it’s been since my son Kevin died. I remember when I counted the number of days after his birth, then transitioned to months and then to years. Now, when asked by others about his death, I give the socially appropriate answer of nearly three years, but I still think 897 days.

Kevin suffered from a serious mental illness. I’m not certain which one as he was given at least two dozen diagnoses during the years of his treatment, often two to three diagnoses at the same time. Even while we cycled through different diagnoses, we assured ourselves that he had good odds to do well. We were pro-active with early intervention. How naive we were.

Through the years, we were often told to wait and watch. The child psychiatrist said, “He’s okay, just a bit anxious. A smaller school should help.” The prodromal psychiatric assessment clinic said his symptoms were “not clearly psychotic, although he seems to have some odd beliefs. His presentation is consistent with an autism spectrum disorder.”

At the later stage of his illness, one of his doctors candidly said to me, “Diagnosis is just a label and doesn’t really help. What we really do is treat symptoms.” From then on, I silently called his team of doctors the “Symptom Chasers.” With the absence of biological markers, all practitioners can do is interview, watch, and categorize based on what they observe. And so, we continued to wait as Kevin continued to be watched.

As months passed, Kevin didn’t respond to the usual treatment protocol of pharmacological combinations, behavioral therapy, and daily structure of activities. One day, when he didn’t want to go out for his daily routine, he asked me, “Would you make a person, with a compound leg fracture, run laps around a track field before you’d fix his leg? No, you wouldn’t. So why are you making me run laps when you haven’t yet treated my disease?” With tears in my eyes I said, “I’m sorry, this is all we have.”

We continued to search for treatment to help him. Over and over, we told ourselves the odds remained in our favor. We had access to the “best” medical care, and we had compliance from our child. We just hadn’t found the right treatment yet. We traveled to San Francisco, to New York City, and, finally, to Boston. In the end, all we really had to offer Kevin was medication, the effectiveness of which has not progressed since 1959, endless talk therapy, and mind-numbing structure.

After 333 days of intensive treatment with a psychiatric hospital in the Boston area, Kevin died in a residential home associated with the hospital. Kevin was 20 years old.

After Kevin’s death, one of his doctors compared his illness to that of end-stage cancer. Perhaps he said it to help make sense of what was otherwise a senseless illness and horrifying death. But he was wrong. Kevin’s illness and death were nothing like cancer. You can accurately diagnose cancer. You can see if treatment is making it better or worse. And you can explain how the patient died. None of this happened for Kevin.

When some time had passed after Kevin’s death, I began engagement with the mental health advocacy community. Each time, I found myself with immense respect and admiration for the tireless commitment of the parents who care for their children with serious mental illness. But I was also disheartened by the fact that, as we enter the third decade of the twenty-first century, the prominent advocacy work for the seriously mentally ill is about treating this community as patients rather than inmates.

How sad that those, who are most vulnerable among us, cannot be treated with basic dignity by our society. While we fight to make progress in releasing people from prisons and placing them in hospitals, we cannot forget that many, if not most, will remain incarcerated within the confines of their serious mental illnesses until we make real progress in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

In one of Kevin’s last emails to his doctors he said, “If you want to understand my experience better, start by thinking about the ways you are thinking incorrectly about it.” There remains a lot for which we are thinking incorrectly when it comes to serious mental illness.

PLEASE HELP US BRING SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS INTO 2020 POLITICAL DISCOURSE by Dede Ranahan

This is the grass-roots effort of serious mental illness advocates from across the country. If you’d like to join us and send these materials — letter, Five-Part Plan, and an attachment of SMI needs to your political representatives and others in your spheres of influence, send me an email and I’ll email these materials back to you. Thanks so much for your help. Dede

dede@soonerthantomorrow.com

TO: All  2020 Presidential Candidates
SUBJECT: Serious Mental Illness (SMI)

So far, 2020 political candidates make rare mention of serious mental illness (SMI — schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, OCD, bipolar disorder, and major depression), and the lack of mental illness care in the US.

* The SMI population represents 4-5% (10 million) of the mentally ill in the US. That’s 10 million families and extended families (voters).
* Ten times as many people with SMI are incarcerated as are hospitalized.
* Some SMI individuals are so sick they don’t realize they’re sick (anosognosia), don’t respond to treatment (if they get it) and end up incarcerated, homeless, missing, suicidal or dead.
*It will cost billions to create a viable mental illness system. It’s costing billions, now, in prison over-population, homelessness and cities under siege, lost workdays, family disintegration, suicides, untimely deaths, inundated ER’s and hospitals, violence caused by untreated SMI, overwhelmed police, and in uninformed and misinformed criminal justice systems.

The Five-Part Plan enclosed is the collaborative work of grass-roots advocates from across the country —individuals, professionals, writers, journalists, caregivers, and mothers (always the mothers). Our intent is to put this plan in front of every 2020 presidential candidate. Right now, no candidate is talking about SMI. It’s as if it didn’t exist.

The steps in our plan are baby steps. We can’t immediately address everything that needs to be addressed in our messed up mental illness system, but we have to start somewhere. We’re trying to help 2020 candidates — we know you have a lot on your plates and we appreciate your energy and efforts to make our country better. We’ve created this Five-Part Plan to give you a starting point and a way to introduce SMI into political discourse and public conversation.

We’re asking you to take four initial actions:
1. Please read our plan and make it your own.
2. Put your SMI plan on your campaign website.
3. Talk about SMI on the campaign trail and in campaign debates.
4. Talk with members of the SMI community. We’re willing and able to help you as you move forward.

The SMI community is searching for its 2020 presidential candidate. We’re a large, passionate, motivated, frustrated, hurting, and determined block of voters. We look forward to hearing from you.

Marie Abbott — Waterford, Michigan,
My grandson has autism, bipolar disorder, and development delays. Has his civil 
rights intact.

Jane Anderson — Illinois
My 38 year-old son has paranoid schizophrenia. He was diagnosed at 18. My husband and I are 
caregivers.

Tim Ash — Arcata, California
Caretaker of a volatile, unstable SMI family member because there are no options besides jail and the bushes or doorways.

David Bain — Sacramento, California
I’m living with chronic depression and epilepsy and working to divert SMI from prison into treatment.

Marti Rhoden Bessler — Alexandria, Kentucky
My son’s been suffering from schizoaffective disorder for 19 years within our failed mental health system.

Alisa Bernard — Jupiter, Florida
I have children with SMI.

Judy Bracken — San Ramon California
My  30-year-old son has schizoaffective disorder.

Katherine Smith-Brooks and Bob Brooks — Carlsbad, California
Our SMI son is now stable and working following effective treatment and the same psychiatrist for 20 years. We were his only advocates for many years.

Regina Gipson Burns — Hoover, Alabama

Leslie and Scott J. Carpenter — Iowa City, Iowa
Our son’s been suffering from under-treated schizoaffective disorder for 12 years. He lives in a group home with too few services. He’s been hospitalized 20 times.

Sue Chantry — Vacaville, California
I’ve lived here for many years and watched Mark Rippee, SMI and blind, on the streets of Vacaville with no mental health services.

Barb Cobb — Iowa
My SMI daughter’s been under-treated and under-supported by the current system. She’s endured over 20 hospitalizations and is barely surviving.

Christine Cushing — Vacaville, California
There are no resources or places to live for those who suffer from SMI. For a country that’s so progressed, we’re so far behind taking care of those with SMI.

Lori Daubenspeck — St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
My SMI son is a US Army vet. There’s no SMI facility here and one psychiatrist for the island. We’re in desperate need of facilities, doctors, and federal action.

Kathy Day — Folsom, California
My godson’s been discharged from hospitals many times while considered to be gravely disabled. Laws need to be based on need for treatment rather than time.

Katherine Flannery Dering — Bedford, New York
My brother, Paul, suffered with schizophrenia for 32 years of dwindling care. He died at age 48.

Lois Earley — Phoenix, Arizona
I’m the mother and legal guardian of an adult SMI daughter. I've been battling the behavioral health care system in Arizona since 2004. 

Darla Eaves — Everett, Washington
My husband committed suicide.  My son died in our psychiatric hospital. My daughter, thank God, is here with me and stays on her medication.

Donna Erickson — Abington, Massachusetts
My 34-year-old son has bipolar disorder. He’s been hospitalized 25+ times and cheated out of the life he wanted through no fault of his own.

Sonia Fletcher —- Mount Shasta, California
My daughter’s SMI was untreated when she shot and killed her father in a psychotic break. Our family is heartbroken and literally broken apart.

Anne and Tim Francisco — Orange County, California
Our SMI son was sentenced to prison for a nonviolent offense while he was in a state hospital. He ended his life by suicide while in solitary confinement.

Lynne Gibb — Ojai, California
My daughter’s suffered with schizo-affective disorder for 20 years. She’s been missing, homeless, and hospitalized, but never out of her family’s hearts and thoughts.

Elaine D. Gilliam — Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
My eldest son has paranoid schizophrenia. My eldest daughter committed suicide. Two children are wonderful retired military families.

Jeanne Gore — Shapleigh, Maine
Family member, Coordinator, National Shattering Silence Coalition

Pat Guinn — Lincoln, California
I have an adopted son with SMI.

Catherine (CJ) Hanson
Linda (Rippee) and Joseph Privatte
Lou Rippee — Vacaville, California
SMI blind son, brother, and brother-in-law. No mental health services for 3 decades. Solano County refuses to conserve.
Betty Plowman — I was a neighbor who observed this tragedy for 32 years and tried to help when no one else would.
Chris Plowman — I’ve watched this man waste away on the streets for 30 years untreated. Some people need our help and tax dollars; not be abandoned to rot.
Pam Wilcoxson — Mark’s family’s been fighting for help for him for many years and still have not gotten anywhere. 

Mark and Laura Harreld — Strawberry Point, Iowa
Our SMI son was caught in the criminal justice system for non-violent crimes. He ended his life, to avoid another prison sentence, while in a hospital under armed guard.

Dianne Harris — Grove City, Ohio
My son died of a co-occuring vascular condition before a treatment was found for his negative symptoms of schizoaffective disorder. More research is needed desperately.

Janet Hays — New Orleans, Louisiana
I created Healing Minds NOLA to bring residents, families and stakeholders together to explore alternatives to incarceration, homelessness and death for those suffering with SMI.

Amy Kerr and Paul Cox —- Pasadena, Maryland
We’re caretakers for a 23-year-old son who has schizophrenia and a friend with major depression and end stage renal failure. 

Jeannie Kneisly-Manley —  Elizabeth City, North Carolina
My son has schizophrenia. He has a criminal charge and no court date to get him in the hospital. If I hadn’t bailed him out, he’d still be in  jail waiting.

Stacy Kollias — Henderson, Nevada
I’m the mother/caregiver of a 30-year-old son suffering from schizoaffective disorder.

Dianne Lam — Oakland, California
My son has a dual diagnosis and schizoaffective disorder.

Carole McAfee — Salem, Oregon
My son is living with schizophrenia.

Sherri McGimsey — Morganton, North Carolina
My son is a Marine Veteran with schizoaffective disorder.

Gerri Mele — Cleveland, Ohio

Linda L. Mimms, MA, — Poway, California
The inability to get our ill family member prompt treatment has led to a worsened condition and uncertain prognosis which was totally avoidable.

Alison Monroe — Oakland, California
My 24-year-old daughter is a meth user who has schizophrenia. I’ve tried everything to keep her alive and off the street, with some success.

Nancy Moody — Cambridge, Ohio
My son has schizoaffective disorder.  He’s suffering from withdrawal, seizures, tremors, cognitive impairment, and hallucinations. No one wants to help him.

Mary Murphy  — Springfield, Oregon
My son has schizoaffective and bipolar illness.

Lyn Nanos, LICSW — Natick, Massachusetts
Author: Breakdown: A Clinician’s Experience in a Broken System of Emergency Psychiatry.

Karen Newton — Vacaville, California
My son has bipolar-schizoaffective disorder. While homeless, voices told him to hurt someone. He’s incarcerated while waiting for a bed in Napa State Hospital.

Kelly Nidey — Vincennes, Indiana
My son has struggled with bipolar/schizoaffective disorder for almost 15  years.

Teresa Pasquini — Contra Costa County, California
I’m mom to Danny who is surviving 20 years of suffering, suicidality, solitary, and schizoaffective disorder. There’s no federal action plan for families like mine.

Darlene Patrick —Farmington, Maine
My 32-year-old son has paranoid schizophrenia. He’s been in jail, the hospital, release, repeat.

Gema Pena — Hialeah, Florida
My son, Kristopher, was in solitary for 10 years. He attempted suicide, ate his own feces, was catatonic, and lost over 100 pounds.

Ron Powers — Castleton, Vermont 
Pulitzer prize winner, author of No One Cares About Crazy People
I’m the father of two sons afflicted with schizophrenia. One took his life in 2005.

Paula and Bruce Quertermous — Clinton Township, Michigan
Our 39-year-old daughter has bipolar disorder and cognitive disability from birth.

Dede Ranahan — Lincoln, California
Author: Sooner Than Tomorrow—A Mother’s Diary About Mental Illness, Family, and Everyday Life (2019). soonerthantomorrow.com. My son died in a hospital psych ward in 2014.

Margaret Reece and Greg Gazda — Butte County, California
Our SMI son has been hospitalized 5 times, arrested, and is currently in a mental health court program and living in Yolo County with his grandparents.

Arlene Renslow — Modesto, California
I have two sons with brain damage. One son has schizophrenia. Unless someone does something, things will get worse for everyone.

Mary (Courtney) Sheldon — Poway, California
Mother of 24-year-old SMI son. We’ve winged it for 5 years. My SMI brother died, with his “civil rights intact” behind a dumpster in Anaheim, California.

Martha Mccollister Sroka — Dunkirk, New York
My son has schizophrenia. It’s horrible watching your child change, struggle, and suffer. I request that SMI get the same attention and resources as any other medical illness.

Joanne Strunk — Lexington, Kentucky
My daughter’s been raped, homeless, hospitalized (40+times), and almost died lost in the woods for weeks. She’s dying of neglect due to SMI.

Shelly and Scott Switzer — Sandpoint, Idaho
We’re parents of a 33-year-old son with inadequately treated schizoaffective disorder in Missoula, Montana. SOS We’re barely hanging on.

Diana Mandrell Troup — Texas
My daughter spent 16 years in delusion and psychosis because of bad mental health care. She suffered 50+ involuntary holds, multiple tazings, and traumas.

Laurie Turley — Maine
My sister died due to HIPAA restrictions. One of the last things she said to me was, “They should have let you help me. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

Monica and Kimmo Virtaneva — Hamilton, Montana
Our son, Mika, took his life after the disease schizophrenia took his brain and the criminal justice system took his dignity.

Cheryle Vitelli — Newark, Delaware
I lived with my SMI son for 6 years while he was dangerous with only he and I in the house. Finally, a compassionate police officer pushed to get him help.

Darlene Been Watkins — Moulton, Alabama
My son, Shane, was denied treatment, while in psychosis, because there weren’t enough beds. Two days later, he was shot by police while I watched.

Anna Wellnitz — Oro Valley, Arizona
I’m diagnosed with SMI.

My son, Pat, before our world came undone. Read our story. Sooner Than Tomorrow — A Mother’s Diary About Mental Illness, Family and Everyday Life. On Amazon. http://www.bit.ly/soonerthantomrrow

REWIND AND ERASE by Linda Rippee (PART ONE)

Today, I went and found my brother, Mark. He was lying on the sidewalk at a busy entrance to a shopping center. Cars were whizzing by. Another man was sitting there with him and, as I approached them, I could see that Mark was giving him money and asking him to count it. I was immediately suspicious. I asked my daughter to remain in the car.

I walked up quickly and called Mark’s name as I always holler his name before approaching him so not to startle him. I waited until he recognized my voice before I began conversation. Mark pulled another dollar bill from his pocket and asked me what denomination it was. I was concerned that maybe he was buying street drugs. No, that wasn’t it. Here sat another homeless person who had talked my blind brother into giving him all his money to buy a gold pocket watch. He laid out $14.00 which was all that he had. Unless that watch could verbally tell time, what on earth would a blind, gravely disabled man need with a pocket watch?

Good thing I had brought him food, water, and clothing. Mark was shirtless, but had a very heavy coat on. Today, the temperature is supposed to reach 98 degrees. I begged him to take off the coat. He refused saying the coat would be stolen. He was extremely sunburned already. The wounds on his face and around his empty eye sockets were still badly infected from two different beatings several weeks ago when he was robbed. Today, all he had with him was a small blanket. His clothing was disintegrating as he wore the same pair of pants all through the winter and spring. He didn’t have a cane to guide him. He has had 11 different canes this past year.  

I sat down next to Mark and, within seconds, it was obvious that he was delusional. He grabbed my hands and slapped them down, hard, on his leg that has a metal rod from crotch to ankle. He held both my hands down with his hands. His hands looked like leather and were cracked and bleeding. Regardless, he continued to hold my hands tightly. His entire body was trembling. He said, “We have to go back and erase each year that has passed since June 21, 1987 (the date of his motorcycle accident). Rewind and erase.”

I was shocked that he still knew that date. Yes, it was Father’s Day, but he still remembered the actual date. He proceeded to say each year backwards to 1987. With each year, he said, “Rewind & Erase!” He shook, violently, until he reached 1987. Then he grabbed and hugged me and said,” Now, don’t you feel better?”

I told him, “Yes, and I hope you do too.” He began to argue with the voices in his head, screaming that the police were implanting and growing people inside of people and controlling them. I tried to calm him and get him to eat the food I had brought him. He would take a bite, chew tiny bites, and then spit it out.

He brought up my twin. Mark doesn’t always comprehend what I tell him, but I continue to tell him the truth. CJ, my twin sister, had gotten bad news about a medical diagnosis. I shared her condition with him. He began yelling at the voices he hears and blaming those voices for all the pain and suffering of those he loves. The intent of his body language was to beat himself up. I hugged him, and once again reminded him that I love him — as I do on every visit. He didn’t want to let go and held on tight for a while. As I was saying goodby, he began crying. He said, “Someone disconnected me from my mother. They’re cutting out pieces of me.”

I slowly walked away, feeling sick to my stomach. If only I could “rewind and erase” all the horrible memories, delusions, pain, and suffering he’s had for the last three decades. Yes, Mark, I would feel better.

Linda adds: Every letter/email I’ve sent out has also been sent to the County Board of Supervisors. I’ve sent out over 1200 emails and my twin, CJ, has sent as many. Each time, we copy agencies and politicians. We’ve saturated them. We’ve sent out thousands of private messages all over the state, and made thousands of posts and comments in over 100 social media groups all over California. CJ authored the petition for AB1971* and we collected 56,000 signatures that went to the full assembly and senate. I’ve made 30 speeches speaking at public meetings. I’ve testified twice at the capitol in support of AB1971.* I’ve gone to the capitol and told my brother's story to support several other bills. There have been 12 news articles and TV interviews. Mark’s story has been published in three national blogs and used at medical conferences. We’ve friended, and are in contact with, several well-known national mental health advocates — Ron Powers, Teresa Pasquini, Leslie Carpenter, Dede Moon Ranahan, and DJ Jaffe to name a few. The Board of Supervisors are ground zero. They are aware of all that we’ve done. They stay silent and do not converse with our family. The next project we are working on is a documentary. I have many, many videos of my visits on the streets with Mark. We will make the videos available to politicians and to the public. They are undeniable. When they are shown, Solano County should hang its head in shame.

Note: Solano County has declared Mark to be competent.

*AB1971. This bill would, until January 1, 2024, expand the definition of “gravely disabled” for these purposes, as implemented in the County of Los Angeles, to also include a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is unable to provide for his or her basic personal needs for medical treatment, if the failure to receive medical treatment, as defined, results in a deteriorating physical condition that a medical professional, in his or her best medical judgment, attests in writing, will more likely than not, lead to death within 6 months, as specified.

See Linda’s story, “I’m Past Anger. I’m in Complete Despair.” June 6, 2019, in the archives.

Mark

I'M PAST ANGER. I'M IN COMPLETE DESPAIR by Linda Rippee

I’m struggling. I’m not sure I’m the advocate for serious mental illness (SMI) that I need to be. I’ve not been successful. I see no change in my brother's life. Another advocate suggested I not focus on the horror's of Mark’s story. I know nothing else. My husband thinks I keep pushing, pushing, pushing the ball up the hill and every time the ball slips back down. Crushing me.

I offer suggestions to others, but what do I know? Really? I’ve not been able to help my own brother In three decades. What good advice could I give? None.

Two weeks ago, several people witnessed Mark in the middle of the street. He was delusional, screaming, beating his makeshift cane in the middle of traffic with injuries to his face, eye socket, and hands. I rushed there and called Adult Protective Services (APS). I don’t know if they responded. Three weeks ago, Solano County deemed my brother "competent". 

Two days ago, more people notified me that my brother was in bad shape. He appeared to have been injured or beaten. I called APS, again. They said, “Don't call us. Call Vacaville Police Department.” I did. The dispatcher said, “We could send an officer to check on him, but if he doesn’t want medical treatment or help, that’s his right.”

After all my advocating, I still can't initiate a welfare check on my brother, let alone a 51/50. People contact me and my twin and expect action. I may be inadequate for this task. The county has given us their final word. I’m lost right now. I can’t find the words anymore to make a difference. Love hasn’t changed anything. My love is not enough to change Mark’s life or the world he lives in.  

Some people seem to be amused, skeptical, and doubtful that anosognosia exists as part of SMI. This is why we need HIPAA reform. Not to take away everyone's rights, but to allow families of the SMI to get proper treatment for the loved ones who cannot comprehend decisions or consequences with their own brains.

I’m exhausted trying to open and change minds on this matter. I’m past anger. I’m in complete despair. I can’t accept that this is my brother’s life, and people are okay with that. That alone weighs me down. We’re desensitized as a society.

Solano County says change must come from the state of California or from the federal government. Serious mental illness and brain diseases affect more people — professionals and the general public — than other diseases. It’s insidious. Society cannot afford to ignore it. Serious mental Illness will not be ignored. It doesn’t care what political party you favor. It doesn’t matter if you have the most loving family or what race or religion you are. It will infect you and has no qualms about affecting all who love you and come in contact with you.

I'm exhausted trying to open and change minds. The only minds we touch are of the families who already know the despair and pain of members they love with SMI. The ugly truth is, if people don’t have loved ones with SMI, they can’t hear us. It’s like we’re speaking a different language.

Society, we don’t need more awareness. We need more action!

Linda’s brother, Mark. Linda says, “Mark’s face and head are held together with wires and metal plates. He lost both eyes, but they had one eye still connected by a sliver, so they tried to save that globe. It didn’t work and he’s 100% blind. Mark’s head was split T-shape across his face and eyes and he lost most of his frontal lobe. Through 55 other surgeries, he lost further brain matter. He has a metal rod from crotch to ankle. Most say he looks like Frankenstein. I still look at him, directly, — where the eyes to his soul used to be.”

Note: AB 1769 — This bill just died in committee. It would have appropriated money to be used to plan, construct, and operate two integrated mental health residential facilities adjacent to the county’s existing health and social services campus. There’s no mental health facility for Solano County.