{"id":4098,"date":"2023-06-20T22:05:22","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T22:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p82homes.org\/?p=4098"},"modified":"2023-06-20T22:05:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T22:05:23","slug":"arizona-ignores-the-needs-of-families-affected-by-serious-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/p82homes.org\/blog\/arizona-ignores-the-needs-of-families-affected-by-serious-mental-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Ignores the Needs of Families Affected by Serious Mental Illness."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
My husband and I host P82\u2019s caregiver support group for families impacted by serious mental illness, but I need this meeting as much as anyone else. It\u2019s a place to gather twice a month with other parents, spouses, and siblings to hold each other\u2019s hands, albeit virtually, for a few moments and remind each other of what is true and good. A cofferdam, if you will, against the strong waters of life with mental illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,\u201d my husband read from the book of Matthew at a recent meeting. Boy, did I need to be reminded of this rest. Rest from the injustice without and the tempest raging in my heart. I need the examples of the other families in our group who day in and day out sacrificially advocate and support their loved ones in this broken, messed up system and world. I need to look up again, and yet again, to my gentle savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just days before this meeting, I learned that several Arizona legislative initiatives that sought to bring greater accountability and new secured residential treatment facilities for our most vulnerable seriously mentally ill were going down in flames. I\u2019ll attempt to explain what happened here as brief as possible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These secured residential facilities, like what we now have for dementia patients, have the potential to meet a great need for those people who live with SMI and require more humane support. This would be for the individuals who are at risk of homelessness or imprisonment. I cannot think of a better use of money to help end homelessness than focusing on this need. It is a compassionate alternative to jail or even death. Sadly, because of misunderstanding and\/or dated philosophy<\/a>, there are many who strongly oppose this forward-thinking solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201dArizona Peer and Family Coalition\u201d<\/a> even tweeted their support for this sweep,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWonderful to see less money in the budget for secure housing! Kudos to Governor Hobbs for recognizing that locking up those with mental illness is not only costly but inhumane! We need to fix the gaps in our system, NOT lock us up and strip away our right!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have never met a single person who wants to lock up people who live with SMI and take their rights away, yet that is exactly what we\u2019re doing by allowing our prison system to be the de facto mental illness system. The families I do know are desperate for compassionate, humane, and scientific treatment. This coalition does not speak for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We need focus and leadership. Both are missing here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n *For a deeper dive on the subject of homelessness, I recommend Stephen Eides\u2019s \u201cHomelessness in America, the History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem.\u201d<\/em> <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The amendment has to do with Supported Decision Making. This would be a new option for people with disabilities in lieu of having a guardian. You can read an excellent editorial on this here.<\/a> Given how guardianship is often discouraged or even ignored by some mental health providers, I am very concerned that this will cause more harm for vulnerable families than good. Mental health attorney Josh Mozell testified in previous years that he did not understand the need for the Supported Decision-Making option since Power of Attorney is already an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This cobbled together bill passed in both the House and Senate unanimously in what seems like a slap in the face to the needs of the SMI community and their families, while trampling on the legislative process to gain the Governor\u2019s signature. It currently sits on her desk with the full support of the ACLU and left leaning disability organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *For a deeper dive on how civil rights and disability organizations ignore the needs of the most severely mentally ill, read DJ Jaffe\u2019s \u201cInsane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n