Imagine a stranger sends you images from a police video cam showing your mentally ill sister living under the steps of a parking garage. Then imagine you spend the next couple of years being told repeatedly and correctly that “there is nothing you can do” to get her the mental health treatment she needs.
Sadly, for my sister, her two children and the rest of our family none of the aforementioned was imaginary. At age 76, my older sister died a lonely death last year in Florida where she had gone to escape her demons, never having received the mental health care she so desperately needed. Regretfully, absent some significant policy changes, the homeless and their families here in Georgia are susceptible to a similar fate.
Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy
By all outward appearances, my sister Jo Franklin Trout was remarkably successful. Producer of the “MacNeil/Lehrer Report” on PBS as a young woman (predecessor to the “PBS Newshour”), she also produced documentaries mainly focused on the Middle East. Her success and glamour provided cover for the mental disorders that would eventually take control of her.
Her delusional descent would eventually cause her marriage to dissolve and estrangement from her former husband, children and extended family despite attempts to connect with her. None of us, however, thought for a moment she had become a homeless bag lady.
There are great strides underway in Atlanta and throughout Georgia to address the homeless crisis. As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was awarding the state a $58 million grant for a variety of programs to combat homelessness.
In addition, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the creation of an ambitious $7.5 million fund to create additional housing, maintain existing facilities for the homeless and increase emergency shelter capacity. These are worthy endeavors that by all accounts will make a difference.
All of this government activity is being augmented by an array of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations working on the front lines. For example, Catholic Charities of Atlanta (don’t let the name mislead you as they help everyone, regardless of religious or non-religious affiliation) aids the homeless and they do wonderful work.
However, for them, like other organizations, getting those in their care into treatment for their illness is a challenge. They tell the story of Andrew who somehow managed to get his non-working car towed to their parking lot and proceeded to live in the car with his dog. They cared for him and the dog as best they could, but no amount of coaxing could get Andrew into a treatment program. Eventually, the landlord ordered the car towed, and they see Andrew now and then on the streets. Ironically, he refers many of his fellow homeless to Catholic Charities for help.
Credit: Courtesy of family
Credit: Courtesy of family
Another Atlanta nonprofit dealing with the homeless is Crossroads Community Ministries, whose mission is to “provide access to resources that empower people experiencing homelessness to progress on the road toward economic and personal stability.” They too, however, are often frustrated by the inability to get those in need to accept mental health treatment. Their programs include meals, mail service and help in obtaining identification. The programs are designed to create engagement and relationships, which can be used by counselors to cajole them into seeking appropriate treatment. It is a challenging task that they compassionately undertake with every individual in need and utilizing their services.
Despite all these good efforts, there is a legal impediment that stymies progress with many of the neediest. It was the reason I was to find out there was “nothing“ I could do. In Georgia, Florida and most every other state, for an individual to be directed to mental health treatment, they must be a threat to themselves or others or agree to treatment. The problem with this requirement is that since they are mentally ill, they’re incapable of consenting to be treated for an illness they don’t understand they have. It is the ultimate Catch-22.
Not only is the requirement nonsensical but it flies in the face of how we treat other illnesses. If someone collapses on the street and is unconscious, we don’t wait until they come to and then ask them if they would like to be taken to the hospital. What we do is call an ambulance and take them to receive medical treatment. My sister was essentially mentally unconscious for years but I couldn’t call and get her treated. No ambulance would pull up and take her where she needed to go.
Finally, one state has passed legislation to address this issue. In October, California began implementation of the CARE or Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act. Briefly, it gives standing to family members, social service organizations and others to request from a CARE court a plan for homeless individuals that can last up to 24 months.
The law focuses on people with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, who may also have substance abuse challenges and lack medical decision-making capacity. The legislation provides for numerous procedural and due process safeguards, providing help for those most in need of help or who otherwise will be relegated to a life on the streets.
My sister was one of the “lucky ones.” Through a group of wonderful customers in a local Starbucks in Florida who befriended her, we were able to trick her into thinking she was apartment sitting for one of the customers in a place we rented for her. She was lucky in that she died in July of 2023 with a roof over her head instead of under the steps in a garage. Many aren’t that fortunate.
I am sure the CARE Act is no panacea and can be improved. As a lawyer, I understand the civil liberties issues that have already been raised in court and anticipate there will be more legal challenges forthcoming.
Regardless, as a brother, I am haunted by the practical reality there was “nothing” I could do. I beseech Gov. Brian Kemp and the legislators under the Gold Dome to tackle this issue in a bipartisan fashion and do something so that Georgia families in the future don’t find themselves in a position where there is nothing they can do.
George Franklin is a lawyer, former vice president of government affairs for Kellogg Company and author of four books on politics and lobbying.
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