Re: Homeless

From: Natasha Vita-More (natasha@natasha.cc)
Date: Sat Sep 09 2000 - 13:03:17 MDT


At 07:56 PM 9/9/00 +0100, Amara wrote:

>Probably most people here (including myself) would cringe at the
>idea of "forced 'anything'", but in the situation of a person with
>an acute mental illness (such as schizophrenia), the benefit to the
>person and friend/family is overwhelmingly large. The
>hospitalization accomplishes several things. It enables the health
>professionals to observe the person in a controlled setting, so that
>other medical illnesses, that might be causing the symptoms can be
>ruled out. If medication is started, then the medical staff can
>watch for side effects. Also the hospital stay offers the family and
>friends a brief rest from what is often extremely stressful and
>harrowing days/nights leading up to the ill person's hospital stay.

This is a difficult and complex situation because intervention can be
coercive and it can also be a necessary and considerate action. In some
instances, family members or friends have an agenda that is actually not
fully considerate of a person's illness or is misinformed about the
illness. Also, in several programs that I have worked with for
underprivileged or mentally ill, it was difficult to locate family members
or friends.

I have a friend who is schizophrenic and his family was supportive of
getting him to the hospital and on medication. This support was the most
productive alternative for him and his self-esteem. Today, he is capable
of working but he refuses to because he would not have the monetarily
relief which is provided for him because of his illness. This is another
complex subtopic, but briefly it resembles a treadmill because if he works
he will not receive money from the government. And if he works his salary
might not be sufficient enough to cover the costs of the medications.

>I know that it's dangerous when oppressive governments see mental
>institutions as a convenient tool with which to supress
>"indesirable" voices in the population. The former Soviet Union was
>probably best known for using mental institutions this way. Because
>the concept of forced institutionalism is such an fragile (and
>emotional and dangerous) concept, it's a perfect example for
>libertarians and anarchists to think about and address in order to be
>prepared for the future when we have more minimal government (call
>me an optimist).

Optimist! I'd prefer a minimized government as well, and an upgrade in
overall public knowledge.

Thanks for the closing note and book suggestion.

Natasha



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