x-sender: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com x-receiver: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com Received: from mail pickup service by sc.lmhostediq.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Tue, 25 Oct 2016 03:36:43 -0400 thread-index: AdIukohJEZcQjP1KR+i7h68YHi5pwQ== Thread-Topic: Mentally Ill - zero supervised housing From: To: Subject: Mentally Ill - zero supervised housing Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2016 03:36:43 -0400 Message-ID: <7F18C594166A4F10A45A6CC01245117D@IQ12> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000 Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message Importance: normal Priority: normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 25 Oct 2016 07:36:43.0396 (UTC) FILETIME=[884C2440:01D22E92] CUSTOM - None - Catherine Neel Neel - None - 202 LAKESIDE COURT CLEMSON SC 29631 chmneel@yahoo.com 8434425801 8434425801 HEAL Mentally Ill - zero supervised housing 66.112.166.80 I am writing to you to share my family's story. I hope that you will not only take the time to read a little about what we have been through, but also that you will keep our story in mind when making laws, policies, and decisions in the future. I was married in June of 2015. That June, as my adult life was just beginning, my brother's adult life came to an abrupt halt at the age of 19. My parents had to pick Stephen up from his first stay at a mental hospital to attend my wedding. He was a freshman at Clemson University when his life, and my family's life, changed forever. Stephen is diagnosed as having Schizoaffective Disorder. Schizoaffective disorder is a condition in which a person experiences a combination of schizophrenia symptoms - such as hallucinations or delusions - and mood disorder symptoms, such as mania or depression. Schizoaffective disorder is not as well understood or well defined as other mental health conditions. This is largely because schizoaffective disorder is a mix of mental health conditions ? including schizophrenic and mood disorder features ? that may run a unique course in each affected person. (Mayo Clinic Website) My brother was once a creative musician and poet. Stephen always qualified for the gifted classes in school and was one of those naturally smart kids. He now constantly talks to himself and screams at unseen figures that haunt him. Stephen is trapped in a world where there is always a battle going on around him. He is always defending himself from his visions and he has nothing in his life that resembles a friend. Imagine a life with NO relationships. None! While I do not discount the struggles of families who suffer through other illnesses, mental illness has it's own unique set of cruel realities. Nobody brings you a casserole when you are mentally ill. Nobody comes to visit and check on you when you are mentally ill. Very few people in society, even family members, really understand the disease. There is no special race to help educate society. There is no schizophrenia commercial on television to make people more accepting or to raise money for mental health research. There is also no end. Stephen will live a long, haunted life; alone with the thoughts in his head. Here is the reality for my brother, Stephen. Stephen has never been able to work and will never be able to work. He cannot hold a thought in his head. Stephen cannot even focus enough to watch a TV show or read a paragraph in a book. Stephen scribbles nonsense words on notebook paper that have no meaning. Stephen spends his day listening to voices of people that are not there and who want to hurt him. Stephen cannot live on his own. He has to take a hand full of pills each day and he cannot remember to take them, nor does he want to. The amount of money that he gets from his disability check might be just enough to cover his food for the month. My 70 old mother has literally given up the last 21 years of her life to take care of Stephen's every need. She can no longer care for Stephen. She can no longer chaise him down the street in our neighborhood in the middle of the night. She can no longer stay awake all night to make sure he doesn't burn her house down as he starts a fire in the fireplace in the middle of the summer. She can no longer prevent him from pushing handymen down the stairs or stop him when he threatens to push her. She can no longer control her 6'5'' son and force him to take his medication each day. My question to you is which choice do you recommend for my brother; Prison or Homelessness? These are our two choices. The current mental health system offers 10-day stays in hospitals to allow for medication adjustments. The only other options are what are called Residential Care Facilities. Please GO CHECK ONE OUT and let me know if you think this is where someone who needs constant supervision should live. We have submitted paperwork for this option, but I can tell you this is not the solution for someone that is severely mentally ill. It will only be a matter of time before Stephen or someone else gets hurt. Stephen needs a gated community that will ensure he takes his medication and that will keep him safe from harming himself or others. Please take a look at the total lack of options that are currently available for the severely mentally ill. The mentally ill cannot speak for themselves, so the government has allowed the prison system to be their home. Please let me know what my state and country are going to do to help my brother and my family. I am open to learning about any and all options you have for Stephen. Please contact me if you have any ideas. Sincerely, Catherine Maroska Neel 202 Lakeside Court Clemson, SC 29633 843-442-5809