Hey, yall! I usually only come on at night before bed, so I have tons to catch up on. I feel like a proud mama tonight! 12 hours ago, people started asking questions about institutions and mental health in the US right now. In that 12 hours, yall did a great job actually getting pretty close to the timeline and evolution of services. It made me smile to see my sleuthers finding the info that was in my brain to tell.
I worked in mental health for 16 years. I was the Associate Director of a mid sized mental health agency. My situation was unique because I started in the mental health (only) system. Then, as that system quickly--- and I do mean quickly---- was ******ed (de fun ded). I stayed in the same company but worked with adults diagnosed with developmental disabilities (long ago was called mental retardation, is usaully referred to as intellectual disability now. It constantly changes and evolves).
Where do I begin???? Seriously. It is a long, difficult story. The short answer is that institutions were closed. Rights are (obviously) a huge part of life and treatment of others. Human rights began thinking most people could live in the community, with supports. So, they did a massive shutdown of state hospitals. And it was pretty fast. I spent 2 weeks traveling the state of Louisiana to interview people to live in the community homes (group homes ) and independent living (apartments with some staff oversight) situations. Let me say, this was not a new process. Most of the people who had not already been moved were either very violent or medically fragile. People were always moved into the community, so what was left... well, let me just say not many would have wanted them as a roommate. But, they had to be taken out. It was shutting down.
I was very good with my people. I was rarely nervous and could duck at things being hummed at my head while I wasn't even facing that direction. And I have to say, this process of interviewing and accepting the state group was scary. I was good at reading packets and big huge red flags were made into tiiiiny little details. So, I would find them and ask a million questions, trying to get the real story. Some honestly belonged in the community. Some, not so much. I would never say enough to break confidentiality, but there were definitely "I burnt the house down to kill my mom" to "I raped my 2 girl cousins" kind of packets. And yes, they were being released into the community, with supervision.
Medication is another thing. Human rights thing. You can't force medication. It is a right to refuse it. All kinds of things about it, but basically, all of us have rights. Anything you could not be forced to do, well, neither can anyone. Unless they are interdicted and their guardian says it must happen.
I don't know. If yall have questions, you can ask. It is a huge amount of info. I can't say I know everything, I can only speak from my experience. But a Masters degree in counseling, a hands on professional role in the field, as well as an administrative position in the field gave me more knowledge on the subject than I probably ever wanted.
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