My son is an 22 yr old BiPolar- Schizophrenic.
Refusing medications Always, he is up all night laughing and sleeps during the day.
He and I live in a small open floor plan.
I love him dearly but , am exhausted most of the time.
He went missing and endangered for a week recently.
We had posters and a full search party.
I’m a ski patroller who just lost there job a month early due to the virus.
We may need to move to my van if I can’t find work.
How do you find group homes ?
We have an ACT Team that is to overloaded to answer.
Only interested in mental housing - not drug or alcohol living.
I’ve used all my resources up taking care of him.
In and out of the hospital 6 times in last two years -
Medications don’t work on him, make him feel even worse or sleep 24 / 7
Open to all suggestions
I’m going to give a nuanced @GSSP style response. Hand him a debit card and a cellphone that you have control of and drop him in homeless shelter in the largest, most generous city nearby. Politically homeless in fairly large cities will likely receive the most help in this sort of crisis.
Then focus on your own problems. Sad to say, his illness may drag you both down in this situation. Good luck.
Can’t IVC him without an order…
Decided to try and build trust Re help from mental health care so hopefully he would be willing at some point.
The hospital is a revolving door that is understaffed.
When he is in the hospital, a doctor stops by , a nurse stops by , a social worker may stop by…
In a 24 hour day they see him maybe 5 min total.
Sounds like this is a very stressful situation but please don’t give up on him.
22 is very young to be dropping him off on the streets and giving up.
6 visits to the hospital in two years is not that much compared to some.
Is he on disability SSI ?
Have you filed for unemployment?
Has he been on medication long enough to even know if they work? 4/ 6 months or longer?
i.e long term injections?
What do you mean when you say the ACT team is to busy to answer your questions?
Have you tried Partial Hospitalization for him after he is released from the hospital?
Do you have family or friends that can give you some help?
I agree. There are resources out there but you have to seek them out. Disability has been a huge blessing for our son. We also pushed for monthly injections and his illness has been fairly stable for the past couple years. He was in a group home run by the county which was great but got kicked out because of relapse with alcohol. Just keep seeking resources for him. Good luck!!
My now 20 year old schizoaffective bipolar type son has been hospitalized 12 times for long periods (had his break at 16). I finally demanded Clozaril (please look it up, we tried everything prior) and my son has dramatically cleared up and is thriving in the community for over 1 year now. I have been told by very reputable mental health professionals that because we intervened early and aggressively, he can live a fulfilling life. Since he lived in treatment facilities/hospitals for 3 years and doesn’t want to go back, I use the leverage of mandatory medication in my house or he’s out. His loved ones all back this up and he complies. I was randomly googling group homes for quite some time before Clozaril. Please don’t give up! Check this website out on Clozaril (I totally apologize if your son has already tried this med): https://curesz.org/
