Son Denied Care for Serious Mental Illness. What else is new? krqe/news/on-assignment/mom-son-denied-mental-health-help ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - When 40-year-old David Parsons got behind the wheel on October 18, no one could have predicted what police say he tried to do. A group of kids was playing basketball after school in a southwest Albuquerque neighborhood near Unser and Arenal when the kids and officers said Parsons kept circling the block, stepping on the gas and targeting them. We were getting scared and worried, Isaiah Armendariz, 12, told KRQE News 13. I almost got hit, and I tried to run as far as back as I could. Parsons was charged for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But his arrest tells only half the story, according to his mother, Martha Parsons. David is a paranoid schizophrenic who wasnt taking his medication that day. Martha said David has been sick his whole life. When David was 4, he had a brain injury. This big old lamppost fell on his head, and it cut him from here to here, Martha said. I remember him waking up in the middle of the night when he was 13, 14, 15, and he would tell me, Mom, somethings wrong with me. Martha said the diagnosis came at age 17. Its like a revolving door, Martha said. Hes in the mental hospital. Hes out. Hes in jail. Hes out. Hes in jail. Hes out. David has been arrested for 11 misdemeanor convictions ranging from forgery to minor in possession. He has no felony convictions. Martha said as a single working mother, there was no way she could watch David full-time. He wont take his meds because he thinks its poison, Martha said. Martha said shes written letters to judges, the courts and community homes pleading with anyone who would listen to take David in for treatment. They would tell me unless hes a threat to himself or to someone else, we cant take him, Martha said. You feel hopeless. You feel like no one is going to help him. They give up on him. For those who work in the mental health field, stories like David and Marthas are all too familiar. Families who are desperate to get their loved ones help are often helpless to do anything about it because under current law, the individual with the illness must be the one who seeks treatment. Patsy Romero with National Alliance on Mental Illness said the only option families have is to call the police. Even professionals on New Mexicos Crisis and Access Line are limited in what they can do. Professionals on the crisis line can only help if theyre talking to the individual, Romero said. When theyre talking to families, the advice is always the same: If they present with a suicidal ideation, if they threaten to hurt themselves or others, then you need to call the police. They either set themselves up to be criminals or they hurt themselves or they hurt somebody else. State officials are trying to change the laws to make it easier for people like David to get help. Both Gov. Susana Martinez and lawmakers said they have bills in the works that would, for one, give families affordable, easy access to community health providers who make sure individuals take their medication and make therapy appointments. Were trying to make a proposal for the community health care worker to be able to be certified voluntarily, Martinez said. This person can come in and hopefully be voluntarily certified and receive a reimbursement from Medicare to be able to gear this individual towards mental health services. The governor vetoed a proposal last legislative session that would have created community engagement teams, which would also allow community health care workers to go to an individuals home and try to engage him or her in treatment if a family member or loved one calls the crisis line. The governor said she vetoed the bill on a technicality because the measure placed the program under the Department of Health instead of the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the states behavioral health services. But for David, Martha said it may be too late. Her son now faces a serious felony charge. In his arraignment this week, the judge continued his $60,000 bond, stating he is a threat to public safety. Im really thankful to God that no one got hurt, and Im really sorry that happened, Martha said. As heartbroken as she is, Martha said shes relieved. Hes forced to take his meds and even when he calls me, he sounds a lot better. I just wish it wasnt jail, Martha said. I pray for him all the time. I ask God to heal him.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 14:31:01 +0000
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