Because they have no where else to go......
This epiphany came to me while I was driving home from work one day, thinking about S (who is a patient of mine). S had a particularly rough day that day. He had been refusing his medication for a few days, and on that particular day, had to be emergency medicated. As I assessed and analyzed every decision I made that day, a thought screamed out through all clutter and chaos "You are the new mental hospital. He has no place else to go." With that thought came a wave of nausea that rolled over me, nearly knocking me unconscious. It's true....he has no place else to go......the mentally ill have no place else to go now. State hospital budgets have taken huge cuts over the past 5 years resulting in the loss of hundreds of hospital beds for people like S. Their families are burned out, in many cases filing for protective orders resulting in the patient having to leave his home. He is homeless and mentally ill, no family connection, no social connection, no way of obtaining food or shelter, and no access to healthcare, including mental health care. There is no where else for them to go........
Update on S-he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital yesterday :)
