Thinking along the lines of how our judicial system works has more then once baffled me. It is there for the people to be able to set up a case as to why something was done wrongfully or not. It is there to be a non bias member to make a decision on whether something is legal or not. It is there to make sure justice is served. What many don't understand is that this same system that is meant to protect and to serve our people is also the same system that is sometimes unfair to MI individuals. It locks up people in jails and institutions where the proper mental health issues do not make it into the picture. It is a system that unless it changes how it works that the jails and prisons will soon be inundated with MI people that will only get worse the longer that their MI goes un-checked. Then when they are released back into society, they are worse off then when they went in. Then what will we do in society........we will send them right back into jail.
I have never been one to have any interest at all in the judicial system. It is confusing to me because I have been ignorant to it. Until now. I just completed a nine month ordeal with the courts system. I have learned so much in these nine months that I am some what more knowledgeable in some aspects of it and even more confused in others. I have not been able to share on this while we were in the process of it but now I can now that it is over, to a point.
Even when an individual is known to have MI, they are treated no differently then a common criminal. Don't get me wrong here, I believe that MI individuals need to abide by the same laws as everyone else but they need to be handled differently then the average person in order to get the same desired result. If they are not handled properly then a situation can become escalated to dangerous levels for all involved very quickly.
There needs to be more training for emergency personal in dealing with crisis situation involving known MI individuals as well as suspected ones. They need to learn to see the signs of MI and basic skills in dealing with them these types of individuals. It will make their jobs a lot easier and will allow these individuals to get the correct help needed so that it can be a win win situation for all involved.
Before this can happen we need to come to an understand though. Emergency people need to understand that MI individuals are not trying to "get away with murder" (figuratively speaking) and want to be treated differently, per say. People need to understand that when someone is unstable, they do things that normally they would not do if they were stable. The goal at that point is to safely remove the MI individual to a safe and secure place for all involved.
Because of our dealings with the police and court system in the past nine months it has lite a fire under my pants to change who our local emergency personal handle MI individuals. I am on a mission to get Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) set up in our town and towns around us. These teams will be comprised of emergency personal that have had some basic training on how to deal with MI and the most beneficial ways to handle situations. This is not going to be an easy job to get this type of program into the hands of people who want to see change. If someone doesn't try to get things to improve how MI individuals are treated and handled then their quality of life will diminish. Is this what we want in life, to chastise and hinder these people or do we want to help them? You decide.
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