Does anyone know about the law our state of AZ was trying to work on about getting help for mentally ill people changed? Has anything changed yet?
The problem here in AZ, with family members I have even is you can see they are way off balance, yet because of HIPPA and other laws we can not make them get the help they so desperately need! The mentally ill person rarely goes volunteering to get a mental evaluation! There is nothing until a crime is committed by them that anyone could do, not family friends or witnesses! Then it's too late!
This law has got to change! People who are this mentally ill are usually always scared because they are paranoid schizophrenic or Bi polar so bad. They are not likely ever going to want to volunteer for a mental evaluation to get help! They need help and will refuse it, they think people are trying to hurt them, it's a conspiracy and all that..
The police say "until they become a danger to themselves or another there is nothing that can be done!" Well here we see what can happen with this law, too little too late,innocent people die, and get hurt for life! I have been to NAMI meetings over our situation this is a big problem! Then they become criminals instead of patients!
Lets treat them while they can be a patient, so they never get to criminal state of mind!
The law has got to allow access by at the very least concerned family member's who see behavior that is abnormal,scary, of their loved one, and can get the needed medical help for the mentally ill person!
Right now that is not possible, I have had it happen to me with my family needing help,I could never get them any they moved and are still as mentally ill as ever, that is very concerning! Plus we have had a neighbor even that we could not get help for, I called everyone I could to get that poor woman help...They found her dead in her mobile home a couple months ago she had fallen, it was pitiful how she lived,how bad off she was, and the condition that she died in! I would not let a dog to suffer like that!
If a person had a broken bone and was dragging their leg around and the bone was sticking out we could call an ambulance and they could get medical help!
But if a we see or know of a person suffering badly from mental illness going around, unless they are willing to go to the hospital and be evaluated there is nothing we can to help them, unless they pull out a gun, knife or do something else horrific to themselves or someone else!
Seems to me this can be prevented before it ever happens again, if they law would allow the friends and family that have concern, to require the person they have concern for by law to have a mandatory mental evaluation! If a person is mentally sound and accused of it, they would gladly get a 72 hour mental evaluation, I would!
The mentally sick people who need it most are afraid of getting tested they know something is wrong with them, and they are scared so most never even get diagnosed, so they can even get the help they need!
Without help, they are capable of doing anything to anyone!
Tragedy could be prevented if the law was changed.. There are too many undiagnosed people running around out there mentally sick, that are capable of hurting themselves and/or others!
