I’ve read a lot of posts about family members living in some type of housing. How did you find this? That would be the ideal housing for my adult sz son. He is about to become homeless, he cannot live with anyone or live alone, he cannot take care of himself. He cannot live with me because he is violent.
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@Dreamer1 I can help search if I know what city/state/county your in --if you have a local Mental Health Ombudsman in your county they are great at finding resources for you…but most places will expect him to be compliant with meds and if he is acting violent then he is not taking the right meds and you said earlier he has no meds right now…so that would have to come first…or at least it did when I tried the group home thing for my son…
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I am backing up what Catherine replied. Most group homes will not take a resident if they are not compliant with meds and are displaying violent behavior.
In my experience people are admitted to these residences after being stabilized during hospitalization and placement is found and coordinated by the hospital social services staff. Applications are sent, and staff from the residence may come to the hospital to meet with a potential resident.
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OK. Thanks for the info. I am learning so much from this forum. I am going to wait for him to become homeless, then maybe with no where to live, he will consider hospitalization. Then when he is stable on meds, maybe they will find him somewhere to live. I appreciate y’alls replies. You have really helped me see it is not hopeless.
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I have question, he will want to fight someone by just looking at him wrong. Example, I have been w/him @ movies, store, amusement park & he has punched someone, another time was verbally confronting someone to get up to fight, etc. Is this normal for schizophrenics? Sometimes I wonder @ hid diagnosis.
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San Antonio, tx. I’d appreciate your help. Thank you for offering!
@Dreamer1 I know it is very hard to understand all of these odd and often anti social behaviors that come with schizophrenia, it took me a long time to understand as well as I do today and I still feel like I learn something new about it and how my son is with it on a daily basis. If your son is doing something regularly like acting violent or being overtly confrontational, this is very likely happening because he is not medicated properly. With a good doctor who is diligent in his efforts to get your son sane and stable, he will prescribe meds that counter act these destructive behaviors, it doesn’t usually happen over night…and it is often a crap shoot in the very beginning (I hate to say).and your son will need someone to advocate for him at his appointments to let the psychiatrist know for sure exactly how he is reacting to the meds each time if your son can’t accurately report for himself…I understand not wanting him to be able to be violent within your family-I truly do-no one wants to have to deal with that kind of behavior and uncertainty and if your son was sane and well he would likely not want it to be happening either, but if he is medicated correctly and consistently it is very possible that the violence might not continue to be an issue in the future. If it were me I would set the goal of getting the right psychiatrist and the right meds established for your son, in front of all of the other goals like housing etc… because reaching that goal will make future goals more obtainable…Congrats on being #1 at the Family 2 Family in your area…that is a start! I check in here almost daily so…I can always be a sounding board and as you can see I always have an opinion, but it always comes from a place of just wanting to help anyway I possibly can…
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@Catherine I really appreciate your help. I am learning so many things I did not know. I am going to call those clinics tomorrow. He has been in jail last 6 months, now he’s out & it’s a daily struggle. Like I mentioned the fire he started, he’s calling constantly for money. Today his landlord called me that he’s desperate for money & he was gonna pawn something. Reason landlord knows this is because my son doesn’t have a car so he had to ask for a ride. I think it’s for drugs. I know alot of families go thru this for years. It’s a way of life now. We’ll see what happens, I know it’s leading somewhere real fast. I’m praying now.
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Hi, have you tried getting him off drugs by taking him to NA meetings.
My son was using cocaine and stopped, then marijuana and finally this year he is clean. NA meetings helped him. Is your son on probation or did he just do jail time? Did he go through a mental health court?
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@roseo My son has been clean and sober for several years now and he has gone to some NA meetings but likes AA meetings better even though alcohol wasn’t his first choice…I am not sure he ever went for the program as much as just to socialize with people he seemed to relate to…he just recently has taken a break from the meetings and is doing fine…he had a pretty extensive juvenile record but thankfully I have kept him out of trouble since he has been an adult and he is 32 now. I have my sons guardianship and I am his rep payee and he lives with me so I keep a tight rein on things he seems to do well with the arrangement. Ever since he got on clozapine about 5 years ago and the voices left him he hasn’t even tried to get high or anything. He once told me he got high to shut the voices up.
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https://www.dshs.texas.gov/mhservices-search/
Can fill in search rectangles for Bexar County/ San Antonio LMHA (Local Mental Health Authority)
Says phone lines are open 24 hours a day for questions: CHCS Home Page | The Center for Health Care Services
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Yes, my son had to go to NA and AA mtgs for a year as a condition of his parole (was in prison for a year), but he only went to get a signature that he was there and didn’t actually participate. That’s what a lot of parolees do unfortunately. No, he has never been in mental health court. When I questioned his parole officer about mental health court, he didn’t know any information about it, so he was no help. When I called several places later, was told he would have to be on probation for mental health court. So that’s next step. He’s finally off parole. I’ll have to see how long it’ll take him from being arrested again, unfortunately.
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