Jacob ‘Jake’ Howeth is a thirty-three year old resident of Portland, Oregon who has been living independently in his own apartment for several years, while under a limited guardianship. Recently, while experiencing an extreme state characterized by paranoia, he asked a librarian to call a taxi and when it arrived, he asked the driver to take him to Unity Center for Behavioral Health where he voluntarily admitted himself.
Jake has a long standing thyroid condition and he and his guardian have been in disagreement for years over the most effective treatment for his thyroid condition, which Jake believes is related to his mental health condition, yet Jake is not allowed to make his own medical decisions because of the power that his guardian has over his medication decisions.
Today, he and his guardian are in disagreement over his discharge plan. Jake wants to return to his own apartment, and continue to receive support from Cascadia Health, where he has been working with a therapist who is supportive of his desire to be free of all psychiatric drugs.
In contrast, his guardian believes that Jake should not be allowed to return to his apartment. Instead, wants him to live in a supportive living facility such as a group home. Her main evidence is that Jake did not tidy his apartment prior to checking himself into the hospital. To make her case, she entered Jake’s apartment while he was hospitalized and took pictures of the interior of his apartment. Jake claims that these pictures may depict a little clutter here and there but in no way do they prove that he is living in ‘squalor’ or unable to live independently.
Furthermore, his guardian wants Jake to be subjected to involuntary injections of Haldol and placed under the authority of Portland’s ‘Assertive Community Treatment’ (ACT) program.
ACT is a euphemism for being forced psychiatric treatment while living in the community. Typically when an individual is under ACT, a member of the ACT team will go to a person’s home and observe them taking their prescribed, psychiatric drugs. If they refuse, they can be forced back into the hospital, even if they are clearly not presenting a danger to themselves or others. Critics of ACT detail the paucity of evidence for this ACT HERE and ex-service users give detailed narratives of their experiences with ACT HERE
Please contact Jake’s guardian and ask her to:
Read survivor narratives
Recommend to Jake’s discharge team that Jake
be allowed to return to his apartment immediately
that he NOT be subjected to indefinite, monthly injections of Haldol.
that he NOT be subjected to AOT.
Please note that it is important to Jake that Shield members exercise civility when contacting his guardian since his guardian is his mother. Even though he is at loggerheads with his mother over what he needs to succeed, when listening to Jake it is clear that he respects and loves his mother and does not want callers to use offensive language or shaming tactics.
Remember that family members often think that they are doing the best thing for a loved one by advocating for the use of force or coercion. They are often programmed to believe that their loved one must stay on psychiatric drugs for life to recover from a transient episode known as ‘psychosis’. They often obtain their information from organization like Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) and National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI).
Fortunately, new resources are springing up to help redirect family members away from harmful treatments which use force, coercion, and control to treatments which emphasize empowerment and personal autonomy.
Survivors and Families Empowered (S.A.F.E.)
Mad In America Online Family Support Group
It While new organizations for family members are starting to crop up such as S.A.F.E. and Family Alliance for Recovery from Mental Health
Call or write: Jake’s mom’s name and phone number and email address HERE
Kim Hanna
805-794-6020
drnevermind@gmail.com
