Saturday, December 28, 2013

Time to talk - a parent's perspective on children's mental illness: Liza Long

Is there a better solution for homeless individuals like Henry Earl? Arrested 1500 times!


Could a separate outpatient law called, “Assisted Outpatient Treatment”, (AOT) help this man and others like him? 

Which is more humane and inexpensive – spending longer sentences in jail, (60-90 days at a time) or requiring Earl to live in a shelter or supportive living environment, receiving proper medications, (instead of self-medicating) a few nutritious meals coupled with needed resources, other than AA classes in jail?

Alcoholism is a disease the last time I checked. People say until you want to quit, nothing will change for people like Earl and they will drink until they die. But perhaps Earl is too sick to understand he needs to quit?

Dec 25, 2013 11:59 AM by Josh Kegley
Dec 25, 2013 11:59 AM by Josh Kegley
See video here: 

With that said, please notice the comment under the article by a woman named Alice Bradford who compares Earl to a dog!

When did when we lose our compassion for the most vulnerable citizens in the US, who are forced to survive on the streets and would rather be locked up in jail? 

When President Kennedy passed the Community Mental Health Act,

50 years ago, to move patients with mental illness from hospitals into the communities, did he imagine this would be how many of these patients would survive? 

How is " free choice" working for Earl's civil liberties? 

And how is this failed system saving money? 

The entire miserable account is the definition of insanity!

Read more here about a 64-year old Lexington man who has cost Lexington taxpayers more than $50,000 in the last two years. And the cost stretches back for decades - since 1992; Earl has been arrested on average 50 times per year - or about once a week. This is not an isolated case, just one that has picked up the attention of national media sources. 
LEX 18 NEWS INVESTIGATES http://www.lex18.com/news/lex-18-investigates-judges-taking-a-harder-line-on-henry-earl/
One national article of many was recently published by CNN. There must be a better solution folks!
Most-arrested man to face judge as friends hope for 'Christmas miracle'
By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
updated 5:42 PM EST, Wed December 4, 2013