Family Need Advice for Mentally Ill Brother with Epilepsy and Homeless
My brother is 37 years old. He has epilepsy and has been homeless out on the street for a few years now. My parents and I have tried to help him out for years, but he has a horrible temper and becomes violent. The reason why he is currently out on the street is because we are all afraid to have him in our homes. He stops taking his medication for his epilepsyy constantly... he thinks he can treat his seizures by smoking pot. He is constantly in the hospital for seizures.
My family and I are at wits end and feel completely helpless. He will not listen to anyone. He says it’s our fault that he is homeless because we will not get him an apartment or let him live with one of us. Up until recently we sent him money, but due to the economy all of us are having a hard time paying our own bills.
He has already been to jail twice on assault charges and we think he may be bi-polar, but he will not share any of his medical information with us and we don't have access since he is an adult.
Last Christmas he was beaten and found by the cops and taken to a hospital for treatment and the staff at the hospital tried to get him treatment for mental illness, but he checked himself out instead. This Christmas he had a seizure and fell into a fire and received 3rd degree burns on his leg. He is in the hospital and again the staff recognizes that there is a mental illness and is offering him help, but he wants to be discharged instead. What do we do?
He will not talk to any of us and if he does he always ends up getting verbally abusive and ranting on the phone.
Has anyone else had any experience with something like this? I am open to any advice!
We have talked to the nurses at the hospital and his social worker about having him committed. They said he is not a threat to himself or anyone else so we could not commit him. Even if he threatened to hurt someone or himself he would be taken in for a few days for psychiatric evaluation and he could choose not to have treatment... which is what he has done in the past.
I agree that my brother might be manipulating us. Its very hard to not help your family especially when they are homeless and ill. I pray every day for my brother. My family and I have agreed to cut him off as far as money goes and hope he'll hit rock bottom and get help. My biggest fear is that he'll die before he gets help.
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President Regan closed down most government mental hospitals long ago. Since then there has been little or no help for these people. Many of them have died since then.You can try to have him commited for the safety of others,as well as himself, but that doesn't always work out. And the state would put him in a prison like facility.He has to want to help himself first.It's winter time,and the worst time to be on the streets.Many homeless people freeze to death because they drink cheap alcohol and don't realize how cold it is.All you can do is tell him you love him and hope he gets help before it's too late.
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