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Chris Bohnoff is absolutely correct in his view that this is a very large systemic failure.  The failure is not limited to crisis intervention.  It is incredibly difficult to live in recovery from mental illness.  We will have thousands of mentally ill citizens living on the streets until we have adequate systems to provide housing, income and heath care (including mental health) care resources.  Access to services for poor people is largely dependent on eleigibility for Social Secrurity disability benefits (either SSD or SSI).  This is not an easy gate.  It often takes years of complicated and contentious self-advocacy to gain this determination.  Individuals with a cognative impariment are often unable to navigate these process alone.

Even with a Medicare or Medicaid card, there are precious few providers who will accept the benefit as payment for services.  It is a self-defeating system.  Without access to medical services, medications are not available.  Without medications, individuals ofen decompensate, and lose the insight into their own situation that can help lead to recovery. 

Until we look at the problem from a community level through the eyes of the consumer, we will never provide a humane path to recovery.  There are many parts to the problem.  We must address them all together in a way that solves the problem, not just dumps it on some other budget. 

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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