Happier times, from left to right, Cheryl Scott, Phil’s mother; Philip McMahon; and Ken Scott, his stepfather.
This month my blog averaged 71,000 readers with an additional 9,000 on Facebook. Thank you. Every week, readers send me emails asking how they can help improve our system. Here are examples of readers who are doing exactly that by writing articles, sounding alarm bells, creating Broadway quality shows, launching incredible websites and winning well deserved awards!
*Mental Health gadfly D. J. Jaffe accuses recipients of federal mental health dollars of blocking congressional reform efforts in an article published by The National Review. Writes Jaffe:
“Mental-health programs received $172 billion in federal and state taxpayer funds in 2014. As a result of lobbying by the mental-health industry, however, little of it went to reducing homelessness, arrest, incarceration, and hospitalization of the 10 million who have serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Instead, as in previous years, a vast amount went to improving the “behavioral health” of the masses.”
Jaffe and his website, Mental Illness Policy.Org, have repeatedly raised questions about SAMHSA programs that he believes are wasteful. You can read his argument in his article: A Chance for Real Mental-Health Reform, If the Mental-Health Industry Gets Out of the Way. You might recall that it was Jaffe who complained about how California officials were spending funds generated by the so-called “millionaires’ tax” on questionable purchases, such as spending $11 million to hire a public relations firm and half million dollars on a salary for a lobbyist.
*A recent study by The Washington Post documented what national studies have shown: nearly half of all police shootings involve persons with mental illnesses. One father who is putting a human face on this grim statistic is Ken Scott ,whose stepson was shot during a psychotic break by a San Diego police officer. Ken’s stepson now faces two felony charges. Ken tells his family’s story at Phil’s Page.
It was 12:42 am CST when my wife received the first news of Philip’s shooting, an event that had occurred 10 hours earlier. From that point true information was almost impossible to obtain. The police wanted information but gave none. The hospital was not even allowed to acknowledge that Phil was a patient. Everything we got was from the media and they got what the authorities wanted them to say. For the next 5 days we were living in hell.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, up to forty percent (40%) of adults who experience serious mental illnesses will come into contact with the police and the criminal justice system at some point in their lives. This is why Crisis Intervention Team training is needed in all of our communities and by team, I mean more than 40 hours of law enforcement training. I’m talking about communities implementing jail diversion and meaningful community mental care services, including supportive housing!
