Monday Thoughts

I have had a number of things on my mind today. The first is why there isn’t a better system in place for helping those with mental illness or substance abuse issues. And why is it so hard to get individuals like this who are causing problems out of standard housing and into a care setting where they can get the help they need? We have a situation like this in my hi-rise right now and it’s frustrating a lot of people. This person has multiple warrants out on them and they’ve even caused problems at businesses in the neighborhood. Even with all that and the fact that their apartment was condemned by the health department, there is nothing that can be done to get them trespassed from the building until the police can arrest them. (I also heard they may be allowed back at some point.) This should not be. There should be some way to ban the person and then present them with the paperwork if they enter the building. They also shouldn’t be allowed back for any reason since they stole things and assaulted multiple people.

This brings me to something else I wonder about. Why are people released from inpatient care and not required to have a worker check on them regularly? It should be a condition of being released. This person was fine at first and then stopped taking their meds and went totally off the rails. Someone checking in with them regularly might have stopped things before they escalated the way they did.

I realize this would take a lot more workers than they probably have now, but it seems like it would be worth hiring more. (And paying them well.) There also should be more residential facilities for people who can’t live independently.  People with mental issues or drug and alcohol problems shouldn’t be out on the street. They also shouldn’t be living in regular apartment buildings if they’re not able to. (At least not without regular monitoring.)

It’s hard because it seems there is very little that can be done and that leaves people angry and afraid. (And the people in crisis are left without the help they need.) I’m not without sympathy for the individuals either. I had an uncle who was schizophrenic and I remember what it was like when he stopped taking his medication. I also remember why he didn’t want to take it and what he said it did to him. It’s just a really difficult situation all around. Everyone deserves dignity and a home. We also deserve to feel safe and not live in fear and with messes all around.

The last thing on my mind is why can’t people respect shared spaces. Aren’t people taught to pick up after themselves and use headphones when listening to music anymore? There seems to be a big lack of responsibility and respect and taking pride in your home. I wish there was a way to bring those values back and to get people involved in things. I can’t imagine spilling detergent in the laundry room and not wiping it up or having something bubble over in the microwave and just leaving it. It boggles the mind that so many people can just do that seemingly without a care. I’m not sure how to change that either. All I can do is sigh and clean up after them when I do my daily recycling rounds.