Hello. This is my first post and I just found this forum. I am really hoping someone has an answer. My son is 23 and has schizophrenia. PLEASE I need to know what state that I can move to in order to get my son the help he needs…it would have to be involuntary since he has anosognosia. He needs help so badly and I dont want him to get a criminal record. I though Arizona might be the answer after reading the commitment laws etc. but a friend in that state said its just as bad as Ca…she kept trying to get help for her son (who is an air force veteran) and they just kept putting him in jail. In addition, Arizona has only one long term mental health hospital and it is located in Phoenix BUT it has horrible information out there regarding lack of supervision, patient on patient violence, patient deaths, etc. so that is out of the question.
I am desperately trying to find out where I can move to for him. I have read and Googled for hours and I dont feel like I have gotten anywhere - please if anyone has any input on how they got their loved one help I would really like to know what state. I can’t do this for much longer he has gotten so much worse. If I call the police they will take him to jail and not to a hospital - I have found this out the hard way more than once. He doesnt need to be arrested he needs medical help and it is so WRONG, UNFAIR, HORRIBLE, that those that need help the most can’t get it because of stupid laws and political red tape…….I ran across several articles for douglas county, Co but it is very expensive there. They have created a new program to help in crisis situations by diverting those in crisis away from jails and into a direct behavioral center for help. I am hoping there are other areas that are doing similar things that are at least affordable places to move to. Any input would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading this.
I am in a busy metro area of Florida. Here the police or medical personnel can Baker Act a person to a psych ward if they threaten harm to self or others. A judge can order an ex-parte Baker Act if a family member petitions the court due to inability to care for self despite help from family (i.e. won’t eat, etc.). We had 40 or so police visits to our home over the years, and 5 total Baker Acts. Twice she was Baker Acted from jail after committing misdemeanors. She was kept in the jail hospital until released, and then sent to the psych ward from jail.
Finally, she is med compliant and is 90% recovered from most paranoid sz symptoms (positive and negative). She is communicating, working part time, and seems normal to those who don’t know her history. She cannot support herself, but my home is calm and I no longer mind supporting her.
I had to learn to navigate the laws to get her committed, and to keep her on meds. Not everyone I know here in this area has been able to get their sz loved one committed or on meds. I feel lucky the police, hospital, judge and meds all worked this last hospitalization in December to get her on a med that I knew worked from a prior hospitalization. NAMI classes and support groups, and members on this forum helped me greatly in deciding what to do to force help on her.
That’s where I’m at now trying to figure out how to get my daughter to get put in a place to start her some treatment. She is in denial. Let her tell it there’s nothing wrong with her!! She just got diagnose with as and other thing’s I need help!!!
@Geekmom0, I think you have to figure out which states have more liberal or lenient involuntary commitment/forced med laws. I’m pretty sure all states go by the “danger to self or others” criteria, but some states (like MA) have a more liberal definition of what “danger to self” means. “Danger to self” shouldn’t just mean that a person is suicidal. It should also mean that the person is unable to care for his or her self. I think those are the states that you need to look into.
You can also look on this site (and it’s a great site to follow for other related reasons, also): Grading the States - Treatment Advocacy Center. I can tell you that in Georgia, the law reads that the person has to be of “imminent danger to himself or others”. I have been on that journey also…how to get help for my loved one. Keep in mind that there is no magic cure, that going to a hospital does not mean that they will keep the person long enough to truly help him, nor that they will keep him against his will. However, if you can get him into a hospital or treatment program, and they can start an A/P drug, the person may be considered med-compliant and be able to enter some kind of residential treatment program. If you refuse to let your loved one come home (because you are convinced of the direness of the situation), it is possible that your loved one will agree to get help or go to a residential program. If you are not already familiar with LEAP, please read the book “I Am Not Sick; I Don’t Need Help” I am convinced that these things are what helped our son stay on medication now for 10 months in a supervised setting, and he has gained SOME insight. We are hoping for more.