Lawsuits-- Human Rights for the mentally ill

I doubt that there are any attorneys in this forum with the insight, ideas etc… to see how a massive nationwide lawsuit initiate could be taken on. There is no parity. I was a Director of Special Ed back when Fed Law 94-142 – was enacted… the first one for our area — 1974. We had more services then… We still had the state hospitals which helped more people then they hurt. I live in western MA. These hospitals with campuses of 100+ acres typically needed to be re-invented… not closed. They needed to offer extreme settings for those who are so ill, think Vets, to Main St treatment with outpatient programs, living situations etc…
In our state the closed state hospitals have been selling land to developers for million dollar homes… The money received does not go into mental health and indeed I cannot get any state legislator to even talk about it… and oh yes, MA is considered one of the best states in the country for MI.
I worked for the Bureau of Institutional schools also in the 70s. I’ve been the the MA NAMI bd and have been a strong advocate for mental health for years only to watch MA violate it’s own decrees…
Brewster vs Dukakis a 13 yr lawsuit that helped bring about the closing of the institutions. It clearly states in there the importance of community based mental health programs for the hospitals to be closed.
That is not happening. As hospitals across the country are closing their doors to become Urgent Care centers… new regional state hospitals are being built in some areas.

People are discharged to the street… homeless or to a shelter… Would you just let someone out the door dragging themselves if they were not totally healed from physical surgery…
Let’s face it – It saves money. Many of the public hospitals are now owned by private corporations… many state programs are now run by private companies… Facism ?? Does meet the definition… all about $$$$$

To keep fighting for help as many of us caregivers, family/friends, do is not enough. Seriously there has to be much, much more. I truly believe laws are being broken such as in Brewster vs Dukakis…

IF a decree is made that would effect public hospitals, programs does it still hold weight it that progarm/hospital is then private? I also do not believe in the “Non-Profit” status which really has no place anymore. … another conversation.

Much as with cigarettes… is it crazy to t hink that if enough people got together in the country or maybe at least in their state… they could initiate a lawsuit against that state for not providing the services necessary for mental health…

Would t his involve insurance companies?? I don’t know. This is why I wish that a top attorney or similar would become a champion for this… Seriously… human rights violations ??? WE’ve got plenty of them…
Hey, it’s all about Capitalism in it’s ugliest form sadly.

Angry… not bitter.

Sue Louisignau
Greenfield, MA

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I agree with all your observations. I am an attorney but not with the speciality for this. The Reagan administration came up with the plan to cut all the social services for mi. I think we need to think about how best to raise this issue in a way that supports our loved ones us and society.

This has been done through NAMI, DBSA etc…
Too late… the USA only does something if they HAVE to… what you’ve suggested has been done… no one listens… our governor in MA speaks to all we’re doing for MI
We aren’t… mind you the parents of adults with autism are fighting a similar battle.
Homelessness and shelters are a treatment model for mental health…
Seriously… if we don’t bring out the big guns now when will we. Had more services in the 70s then now.
But we need champions… who have the connections etc… similar to the tobacco fight.
Or maybe we just continue ue to ignore it
Thanks for responding
Sue

This organization exists exactly for that purpose: https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/

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I am in complete agreement with suing states for not providing secure housing for the chronically mentally ill. My brother, an attorney, said I could lobby the effort til I die without getting anything done or be smart and get a national organization like NAMI to champion the suit. It’s time NAMI do something nationally that results in secure supportive housing instead of just giving lipservice on their website.

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My understanding of NAMI is its roots in support and education, which eventually led to more advocacy efforts. In the state where I live, the NAMI state organization’s executive director was on the commission with numerous other mental health advocacy groups which worked tirelessly to recently pass sweeping bi-partisan legislation to help persons living with mental illnesses and their families. NAMI is largely comprised of volunteers. It needs more people like you and me willing to be trained to help others for support and education, as well as to become advocates at the local level to raise awareness and to make our voices heard with legislators and others at state and federal levels, too. We can sit and complain, or we can get involved and help to make a difference. This might help: Advocacy | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

[quote=“SueML, post:1, topic:12256”]
Brewster vs Dukakis a 13 yr lawsuit that helped bring about the closing of the institutions. It clearly states in there the importance of community based mental health programs for the hospitals to be closed.
[/quote/]

I will be looking up the case. I am sick and tired of taking care of my brother with the realization he, and so many others like him, are putting themselves and their families at risk because people refuse to acknowledge medical care and housing as a human right. Feeling safe in your home environment, even if that means kicking out your family members, is a right. Just as much as the mentally ill deserve care. The cases of Andrea Yates, deaths in the U.S, and Australia highlight the fundamental lack of understanding for most people have when it comes to the realities of caring for the mentally ill. No one will be alive forever and SOMETHING must be in place to care for them or else no one and nothing will take care of them. With enough history behind us of what unmedicated illness and homelessness does to people’s quality of life, this SHOULD NEVER be something that is debatable. That is, a person’s right to housing, medical care, and safety. If this applies to the mentally ill, it also applies to their caretakers.

So true. I am tired of the strawman argument that everyone should be able to “Pull themselves up by their bootstraps”. If you’ve ever talked to the ones paid and unpaid who care for their family members, you would find a consistent report that medications and support are only as effective when their are other agencies that can step in and guide care and long-term placement. While laws were changed to prevent unnecessary and fraudulent placement in care facilities, with the refined nature of diagnostic equipment and process of elimination, it is far less likely to falsely diagnose a patient with sufficient time to have clinical oversight and supportive follow up services.

Investing in good care would and does decrease rates of homelessness, recidivism in crime connected to mental illness, and risks of other complications like sexual predation, fraud, and unexplained deaths (either due to unscrupulous individuals on the street) or suicides which are suspected but cannot be definitively proven, due to a lack of documentation at the time of the body’s discovery.

https://thinkprogress.org/leaving-homeless-person-on-the-streets-31-065-giving-them-housing-10-051-3107834a8632/

Attached link is a study which touches on homelessness and the cost/reasons/benefit analysis of what it takes to truly end cyclical homelessness and related illnesses of poverty. Obviously with strong causal links between Severe MI and care descrepancies.

I tried volunteering for NAMI and was told they didn’t need help.
I really think they should spend more time and money on SMI and policy advocacy than they do.

Seriously? This is some kind of Bullshit. (Not disbelief in what you are saying) but that they claim to be an advocacy center and help resource while denying help and refusing to get their panties in a bunch for the real reasons that they were invented.
Yes, we should destigmatize mental health issues
Yes, everyone deserves care and support and love

But they only pay lip service to the amount of advocacy that they claim to support. Perhaps this is just me being cynical, but in most states efforts to restrict and eliminate care budgets they are saying, through their actions, that the mentally ill and their caretakers, should just die in a hole somewhere. If all we are ever given is kind words and kisses with no actions, this is the same scornful lip service that so many “Believe in only prayer” groups tend to support.

Not helping with financial costs of healthcare, not providing meals and safety checks to the endangered, simply sitting back and waiting for something to happen. So long as the problem is ignored by NAMI and other supposed disability rights groups, everything they do means nothing. We already have a message board and support in 211 service hotlines. If they can’t do anything else, it is time to ignore whatever they claim. Actions speak louder than words.

Did you talk to a local NAMI affiliate or to someone at NAMI in your state? There are criteria for volunteers so it may not have been clear what you were trying to accomplish or what you were volunteering for. In my state, NAMI along with other behavioral health organizations helped pass the largest mental health legislation ever in our state in 2022 but there is much more work to be done. An additional huge bill passed almost unanimously on one side of the legislature but got caught up in non-related politics in 2023. So the next-step legislation is being re-worked and will be presented again in 2024. Find like-minded advocates through NAMI, Treatment Advocacy Center, other behavioral health organizations in your state and find out what they are doing. It takes work but change is possible. In fact, you can sign up on the NAMI website for advocacy alerts. They make it easy to send a pre-drafted letter to appropriate state and federal legislators specifically for your location when there are mental health bills to be voted on. We DO have a way to have a voice. Here is the link. Advocate for Change | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

I do know about the advocacy efforts and I do contribute although I admit I could do more.
I am a member of NAMI and I support them but I think they could do much more for families of schizophrenic-related disorders.
My post related to the fact that I was disappointed that we didn’t have any in-person family support in my area.

Mental illness is a broad idea and mental wellness even more broad.
Schizophrenia is so intense and I don’t think most people in NAMI really understand it well. NAMI is a big organization and I think that people with schizophrenia and other similar disorders are very much in the minority.
I tried to volunteer as a family to family or family support group leader, because I figured that since all the support groups in my area are on ZOOM and this is post-COVID, there must be a need for volunteers. I thought that rather than complain about the fact that nothing was in person I ought to volunteer myself. Turns out lack of volunteers wasn’t the problem. Meeting in person is the problem.
This goes beyond NAMI of course, but still I think sad, because even though I know that remote interaction opens up service to many who wouldn’t otherwise engage, it simply can’t replace the human connection one gets from in-person support groups. We need both.

Hi Hope4us-
I spoke to someone at my local affiliate. I understand I would need training, but the only thing I was told was that I should donate.

I’m so sorry. That does not seem like a good response. NAMI is staffed primarily by volunteers and some are more capable with their training than others. Maybe they were not offering training at the current time, but they could have put you on a list, you would think. You could always reach out to a different affiliate if you were interested in, say, a Family Support Group. Many are offered via Zoom these days. If you really desire help with that, you can message me privately and I’d be glad to help look more closely at what could be helpful to you.