I have been totally amazed at the response in one county to an inmate who is mentally challenged. First, she is homeless. Second, she has only broken one law in all of her thirty-eight years. The woman self-medicated. She was caught driving while intoxicated. Unfortunately, she lived in her van. She lost the van and her driver's license. She received probation. Because this lady had no place to live, she decided to hitchhike to Austin to live there. She did day labor in Austin. This woman went to work every day that work was available. Then she would go sleep wherever until the next day. She did report to the probation office in Austin. The probation officer refused to take her case because she was homeless. So, the woman who was mentally challenged i.e., emotionally disturbed i.e., unable to think rationally and clearly went back to working every day and sleeping under a bridge with her dog each night. Finally, the law found her and transported the woman to the original county of arrest. There I became her court-appointed attorney.

When I met this woman, I immediately noted that she had a problem. Not only was she homeless but she was agitated and confused. She admitted to imbibing a bit too much. She had no money. She was faced with a Motion to Revoke Probation because she had 1) not reported to her probation officer and 2) not paid her fines, fees, etc. that are part of the probation. Considering that this woman had tried to report but was turned away, had an obvious mental disability and possessed no money, I felt like the judge would be somewhat lenient. I was misguided and confused myself. The judge, who had already kept this woman in jail for eleven days, sent her back to jail until August 8. The rationale? At least a jail puts a roof over her head and gives her three meals a day.

After that decision, this woman's situation started to go downhill. To summarize a long story, this woman got agitated at an inmate. She was put in solitary (at my request) to protect her from herself. The woman thanked me later. Actually, she wanted to stay in solitary. Within a few days, I called the Center for Health Care Services begging for assistance. A mental health specialist visited my client in jail, agreed that this woman had a mental problem but said that unless this woman was a threat to herself or others, she could not be removed from the jail for proper treatment at the state hospital in Kerrville. The mental health worker asked me to request that the jail personnel transport the woman to their office for a screening. At that point, she would have access to a physician and the help that this lady desperately needed.

I made the request. The sheriff informed me that this woman and others with mental health disabilities were perfectly capable of controlling themselves. After all, he could control himself so surely these people could, too. In addition, he thought this mental health thing was a bunch of baloney away. I spoke with a judge who agreed that this type of situation happens all too often. He had no solution. (He is also the chairman of a mental health facility so he does understand.)

Needless to say, the woman has never been transported to the mental health facility. She will be released without medication or other intervention on August 8th. At that point, she will have to continue to live under bridges and do day labor because Texas has closed most of its residential mental health facilities and people simply do not understand mental illness. Now we imprison these individuals and wonder why our prisons are composed of 85% of people with mental illnesses or mental retardation.

On a brighter note, a gentleman asked me the following question to which I had no good answer. This newsletter provided a forum for answers. Maybe the answers will help others.

Hello Mrs. Seal,

My name is Daniel. I just found out a friend has been diagnosed with MS. She currently has a Honda civic, but this vehicle will not be suitable. I was wondering if you might now if Texas has a program to assist people with vehicles. Any information you can supply would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance

The first response was from Jacque:

Karen

You might call the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, they could probably point you in the right direction. There is probably a chapter there in San Antonio. Thanks! Jacque

Then Pam responded:

Has the man found the Multiple Sclerosis Society? Have they been able to help at all? Is he asking for donation of a van or wanting to buy a van with lift? In Houston, there are many places that do adaptations or have used vans with lifts for sale. I have a list of used vans with lifts from our hospital bulletin board. See the attachment. If he is located in San Antonio, I don't know of places for adaptation there, but one of the businesses here might know of someone.

Hope this helps!

Pam
TIRR Hospital
TIRR Library
Name: USED VANS.doc
USED VANS.doc Type: Download File (application/msword)
Encoding: base64

Thank you for reaching out to someone in need. Please send me questions and answers as you think of them. Until next month...