Neighbor is unmediated schizophrenic; anything to do?

[Anonymous]

Sad situation-young neighbor (late 20s)--went to college, moved home, never launched and is now suffering from schizophrenia. Spends the days outside, screaming, talking, howling , etc. Lives with elderly parents. My understanding is he is unmedicated.
I see it but don't hear the behavior because I'm a few houses away. next door neighbors are concerned-they have young kids who are outside daily. This is a Bethesda-like neighborhood.

Anything we can do? Should we be concerned? Anyone have experience with something similar.
Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Like what? Nothing illegal is happening. I suppose you could call the non emergency line if you hear screaming/howling late at night and claim you think something is happening/noise ordinance.

I have a brother who you could be describing. Because my parents did not get him help soon enough, their hands are tied. It is painfully difficult if not impossible to get someone under conservatorship so they can get access to the medical records and get them in-patient help. People with these conditions are notorious for not taking the meds regularly. Advancements are happening with treatment that will allow patients to get a shot monthly instead of daily meds...which will be a big step.

[Anonymous]

That’s heart breaking. No, nothing to do unless something overtly dangerous is going on other than be kind and neighborly to his parents (and him.)

[Anonymous]

This is a Bethesda-like neighborhood.

Then the neighbors can afford to all pitch in for a full time health aide, right? But you just want him to go away without having to do anything at all.

[Anonymous]

But doesn’t he have a right to be an unmedicated mental patient?

He has not actually injured anyone (yet).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t he have a right to be an unmedicated mental patient?

He has not actually injured anyone (yet).

It is time to restore the inpatient mental asylum system, though in a companionate way with ample safeguards.

[Anonymous]

Nothing an outside third party can do but obviously you should take steps to ensure the safety of your home. Fence, dog, alarm, etc. Part of the problem with schizophrenics is they may come to believe you mean them some kind of harm....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t he have a right to be an unmedicated mental patient?

He has not actually injured anyone (yet).

It is time to restore the inpatient mental asylum system, though in a companionate way with ample safeguards.

Good luck. I know you mean well, but as a parent of a medicated schizoaffective son, this breaks my heart.

[Anonymous]

Yes this happened in our neighborhood. Similar situation, but it was a male in his 30s who moved back home after a complete mental breakdown. The first few months he had some really erratic behavior and was knocking on random doors, sometimes during the daytime and at least once in the middle of the night. His family didn't realize he was doing this and they go pretty good at monitoring him after that. I talked to my children about how he wasn't currently a safe adult and if they see him close to our house to just come inside and find me.

I told a few neighbors with kids nearby, just to let their kids know since we are a very friendly neighborhood. But his parents were in crisis and trying to get him help. It's been about 6 months and I believe he's in a much better place.

One thing we did was pool all our knowledge of county resources. If anything, I'd have a conversation with the parents about what sort of support they need. This has got to be a devastating situation for them.

[Anonymous]

You should be concerned for his well-being. Is that what you’re asking? People with severe mental illness are *less* likely to harm others than the general population, and more likely to harm themselves.

As a PP said, it’s virtually impossible to establish conservatorship in these cases, usually only when the person is persistently a danger to themselves or others. Injectable antipsychotics have been around for at least 15 years, but aren’t widely-used enough, in part because it’s very hard to force someone to take meds.

If you’re asking whether the neighbors should be concerned about their kids, then no. I wouldn’t encourage them to interact directly with him if he’s floridly psychotic, since that would probably be scary for everyone involved, but that leaves plenty of options.

[Anonymous]

Not sure why a Bethesda like neighborhood matters.

Be kind to him and his parents. See what you can do to help out.

[Anonymous]

Find out if the neighbors have any guns. I saw a paranoid schizophrenic murder 2 strangers with his parents’ gun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is a Bethesda-like neighborhood.

Then the neighbors can afford to all pitch in for a full time health aide, right? But you just want him to go away without having to do anything at all.

Please. Like you or anyone you know would do that. Let’s be real - no one wants to live by that. My mom did for about 3-4 yrs. Guy was married but completely delusional. Cops would come about every few months when the wife would call them on him. He’d be out front cursing out everyone who drove by. I mean what is there to do? Thankfully they finally moved away.

[Anonymous]

I would call the police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why a Bethesda like neighborhood matters.

Be kind to him and his parents. See what you can do to help out.

Agree. Like somehow it’s worse because it’s Bethesda-like and would be more acceptable if it was some other kind of neightborhoood?