Jared Loughner, Mental Illness, & Arizona Mental Health Budget Cuts

Believe me I have other stuff to talk about besides Jared Loughner. But my recent post has taken a life of its own and has even expanded the conversation onto my Twitter Time Line. As I mentioned recently, the focus on right-wing political rhetoric (as if my fellow lefties never express irrational thought) minimizes the issue of mental health services and the people who need them. Some of whom are poor black folks.

Having said that, I came across a very interesting interview thanks to the good folks at Democracy Now! with H. Clark Romans, of the National Alliance on Mental Health of Southern Arizona. The discussion focuses on just how recent budget cuts by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, has affected the many lives of of mentally diagnosed patients within the state, in this dire economy.

It’s unclear if Loughner either needed or sought mental-health care in the Tucson area, where he lived. But for those suffering from mental illness, Arizona has become a challenging state to live in. The state has seen a $65 million drop since 2008 in behavioral health services for Arizonans who don’t qualify for the state’s version of Medicaid, representing a 51 percent reduction over the last three fiscal years, according the Arizona Department of Health Services and a detailed December report on health care in the Arizona Daily Star. Some $36 million was slashed early last year, and Gov. Jan Brewer called the cuts, which affected some 12,000 adults and 2,000 children, “tough” and “painful,” according to The Arizona Republic, which also has reported that she has dealt personally with mental illness in her family.

Arizona’s budget woes are not unique—other states are confronting cuts to mental-health services and corresponding problems for local police. Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, a friend of Rep. Giffords and her family, told The Daily Beast that calls to fix America’s mental-health-care system are missing the point. Integration of care is vital, he said: “We don’t have a mental-health system in the U.S. We have good professionals, but we don’t have an integrated common policy, and with cuts like this, there will be more problems in a system already strained.”

Carmona said the “opportunity cost” of decisions to cut care must be examined, both in Arizona and nationwide, and he asked, “What will it cost us in terms of the cost of putting more people in prisons and jails?” (Source: The Daily Beast)

It's not clear if Loughner was himself diagnosed as mental patient; however, from all accounts of friends and classmates, he was definitely disturbed and possibly should have been receiving the necessary medical care. For me, having had relatives diagnosed with mental illnesses, this is a very huge issue; some won't admit to this with their family members, but that's a problem in and of itself. I also have a very good friend and roommate from college who I've observed spiraling out of control over a number of years. He finally decided to get help after several stints which involved jail; and he now proudly admits to being schizophrenic, and is on medication living a "normal" life:

Confessions of a "Cutter"

by Joanna (JuJuBe)

I was a freshman in high school when I discovered "cutting". I was being constantly bullied and harassed by classmates. At home, I was reluctant to share what I was going through, because, while my mother was my best friend and the best parent I could ever imagine, she struggled with her own (undiagnosed) depression and was recognizably fragile emotionally. I knew if I started to cry about what was happening at school, my mother would break down with me, and I would end up feeling worse for upsetting her. So, my only respite was the 42 minutes per week I spent with the social worker at school. And the food I constantly gorged on.

Until I discovered "cutting". Unlike the image most people have, no one taught me how to "cut". None of my friends practiced self mutilation. I never saw any images on television. The internet did not exist back then, so I was not influenced by any website. I just knew I was in pain. And one day, I just discovered that using a pocket knife to slash my forearms made me feel temporary euphoria. It pleased me to "punish myself" and watch the blood bead up from the cuts I had made. It gave me a temporary "high" sensation. So, I did it. Over and over again. I usually kept my arms covered, so people didn't realize I what I was doing. It was my tried and true coping method.

I got depressed. I cut myself. People made fun of me. I cut myself. The only person who knew was my social worker, and she could not tell anyone, because technically, I was not endangering my life.

Suicide: An Individual AND a Family Crisis (Bloggers Unite: World Suicide Prevention Day)

By Joanna (JuJuBe)


Two years ago, GA took a bottle of heparin (a blood thinner) from the veterinary program at her job. She kept it stored in her home, and took it with her when she moved to a new location. She also took the needles needed to inject the medication. She told no one that she had procured this item. She had a plan in mind for it.

One night last May, she injected herself with the heparin. She then tied a noose out of an electrical cord and fastened it to her shower door. She proceeded to use a straight razor to slit her wrists vertically up to her elbow. The blade was dull, so she had to make several cuts. She bled so much that the blood soaked through a 6 inch couch cushion. She then went to her bed and waited to die.

The noose in her bathroom was there in case she did not bleed out and needed to resort to another method to end her life. However, she was so weak from blood loss that she was unable to walk to the bathroom. In fact, during the night, when she had to urinate, she had to crawl across her apartment to reach the toilet. Miraculously, she survived until morning.

In the morning, she called a coworker to let them know she would not be coming into work. When the coworker asked her what was wrong, GA began to cry. She confessed to her coworker that she had cut herself, but said that she did not need or want to go to the hospital. Her coworker insisted on checking on her anyway, and when she went to her apartment, found her weak and unable to walk without assistance. The apartment was covered with blood. GA was taken to the hospital. She was lucky to be alive.

If it's free, Negroes will be there, especially if you tell them you won the lottery

As a consumer there are two times when you buy something: 1) When you have to, and 2), When an opportunity presents itself; and said opportunity, is defined as “a favorable set of circumstances”. That said, check out what happened to these patrons at a Burlington Coat Factory store in Columbus Ohio yesterday:

Now according to what I read over at FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW from Lady Deborah who just so happens to live in Columbus Ohio. The woman in question is named Linda Brown, and in a statement to the press from her daughter, she is a mental patient. Proving once again that sometimes “crazy” isn’t always detectable. Now had she showed up looking like who done it and what for. I doubt anyone would have taken her seriously. But what can I say that BBD (R&B group Bell, Biv, DeVoe) hasn’t already said: “You can’t trust a big butt and a smile.”

She was arrested for an outstanding warrant. But what's disturbing to me is that she can be potentially charged for inciting a riot. Yeah, did I mention that those fine patrons trashed the store when they found out they had been Punked? Uh-huh, apparently they were upset when Ashton Kutcher and the hidden camera crew failed to step out from the shadows when it was all said and done.

“By the time employees realized Brown didn't have any cash to pay, police said, she already had taken off in the limo.

That's when angry customers, realizing they weren't getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them, Nace said.

"Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," he said. "It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store."

Police said they have no way of tracking down the customers who stole items and fled, but they're reviewing surveillance video.

When the limousine driver realized he wasn't going to be paid the $900 Brown owed him for the day's rental, he turned her in to police, Deakins said.

Brown, 44, was arrested on three outstanding warrants for aggravated menacing, misuse of a 911 system and causing false alarms. She was jailed late Wednesday, but no charges had been filed against her related to the coat store chaos pending a mental health evaluation.” - (Source: New York Daily News)

After reading the above article my initial thought was “Damn, shit like that never happens to me!” Ok, so I know it's sick and maybe a bit twisted, but the truth is I'm just not the luckiest guy in the world - I'm never around when something like that happens. Ok, so maybe it's my inner greed speaking; I'm human aren't I? Even so, and as human as I am, I seriously doubt I would have been in on the looting and rioting. I mean, that's with the exception of me being left to die after a Category 5 hurricane hit my city of course. What can I say; I love free stuff just like my cousins; and in this economy, is that a bad thing?

I guess from here on out people are going to question Secret Santa's as the pop up on the scene this upcoming holiday season; especially if they're Black and riding in Limos. Mental Health is an often overlooked issue in the Black community. But somehow were this woman's condition explained or realized by these these patrons. I doubt they would have cared because all they heard was F-R-E-E, bitches! And I bet some of them are talking about it today, and happy about how they got over at the expense of Linda Brown and her family.

P.S. I love my people, but I hate when they act like animals.

Police Gone Wild: Police officer beats 15yr old special needs student, and now in jail for rape

There are good cops, and there are bad cops. Christopher Lloyd is a very bad cop, and dare I say a very bad human being. You may not have heard about this guy, but he’s the police officer who was caught on tape giving 15yr old special needs student Marshawn Pitts (pictured above) a beat down in a Dolton Illinois school hallway back in May. Allegedly, according to Lloyd, Pitts refused to tuck his shirt in his pants. The parents of the 15yr old as recent as a few days ago decided to release the tape to the public.

Check it out:

Well, according to a story ran in the Chicago Tribune, officer Lloyd is currently sitting in a Hammond Indiana jail cell on rape charges. According to the story, on September 14th, Lloyd sexually assaulted a woman he knew while he held a pillow over her face. The story also revealed that he had previously threatened the very same woman with a knife.

B-b-b-but wait it gets worse!

Last summer while working in a different jurisdiction, Officer Lloyd shot and killed his ex-wife’s new husband 24 times in the presence of his kids. But guess what? He was never charged and per a currently pending lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, this was as a result of the Chicago police believing his story that he acted in self defense. I don’t know how true that may be, but I know cops do tend to stick together and lie to protect each other - you can click here to read about how that has happened recently in Chicago. Of course Lloyd was suspended from the Robbins Police Dept after the fatal shooting last summer, but according to his father he was able to find work with the Dolton Police Department in January.

Here’s the question: Why was Christopher Lloyd allowed to be employed by another police department? OK yeah he was never prosecuted for the murder of his ex-wife’s husband. But still, was it appropriate to hire a man who clearly had anger management issues? Clearly his anger issue was evident per the recording of him pummeling that 140lb 15yr old kid the way he did. Did it take him sexually assaulting a female the way he did for him to be kicked off the police force?

Not taking anything away from police officers as they do perform a very stressful job. But all too often in their daily lives their everyday on the job activities can have negative effects on them which can be played out in similar ways as was the case of officer Lloyd. I don’t know departmental policies as it relates to psychiatric evaluations and police officers, but given the actions of this individual, isn’t it something to think about?

I mean, is it any wonder why a police officer would be involved in a series of unrelated events as Officer Christopher Lloyd has? We've seen in recent weeks just how violent youth in the city of Chicago can be and are. I just wonder if we're going to attribute the behavior of this cop and others like him to bad parenting as in the case of the kids without giving any care or concern to their mental state given the environment within which they live.

She had sex with the social worker to make sure Child Protective Services would let her keep her kids

OK listen folks - ladies especially - we got some shit to talk about (hat-tip to African American Political Pundit for this one). Yeah I know y'all stuck on that "Real Housewives of Atlanta" bullshit drama (yeah, I got something for their ass coming soon), but it's time to talk about some real stuff for a change. Recently I read a post at a blog on my very first visit that moved me. The blog is Just Jo Nubian, and the post is titled Brothers Remove Your Masks. I've shined some spotlight on this post because it deals with the subject of mental health in the Black community. Now the post speaks specifically about Black men. But since we're all unified (minus the "I hate Black men so I bash them every chance I can get" bitches), I think it's important to understand, that a substantial amount of behavioral "problems" within our collective, is a direct result of what I term: brain damage.

You know, sorta like the lady crying in the picture above? Her name is Theola Nealy, and she lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and no, she's not crying because she misses the sitcom "Laverne & Shirley". You see, she was under investigation by social services for alleged child neglect; she had two kids at the time. Of course, a state employed social worker was assigned to her case (thank the lord that there is still money in state gov't to pay hard working social workers) with the interest of her children in mind. Don't you love the idea that there's a system in place which protects children by any means necessary? You know, especially how they did in this woman's case?

MILWAUKEE -- A social worker who was supposed to be helping a Milwaukee woman got her pregnant instead, the woman said. Now, she's fighting to get her daughter back. The baby's father was assigned to investigate a child neglect complaint about the woman's other children.

The agency said the social worker broke rules by having sex with a client and but then placed the child with him after they removed the baby from her mother's home.

"I missed her birthday. He had her," Theola Nealy said. Nealy's daughter, Melina, turned 1 year old in the custody of her former child welfare worker, who is also the baby's father. "He started coming over, and it evolved into sex, and I told him I did not want to have sex," Nealy said.

Nealy said she had sex with the social worker to make sure Child Protective Services would let her keep her kids. She said when she became pregnant, he told her to have an abortion. After she refused, Protective Services soon removed her kids from her home. [click here to read more and watch the video on this story]

Well isn't that just wonderful? I've heard that the post man always rings twice, but not the social worker? Sure I know to many of you reading, this woman is probably just another "Welfare Queen" sitting on her ass making babies and getting fat. But would we be hard pressed to consider her mental state? I don't know if it's done or not, but don't you think a mental evaluation should be considered for parents investigated for child neglect? Of course I'm assuming that it's never done. But in the interest of children, shouldn't it be? Especially when we're trying to break cycles of learned behavior?

So now she doesn't have any of her kids - including the baby who was taken away and given to "Mister Horny Predator Social Worker Guy" who is taking her to court to obtain full custody of the child. Now ain't that a slap in the face? I guess he really cares about kids now, considering he has lost his job as a result of his actions. Some people are of the opinion that a crime was committed. But I'm not sure if betrayal of trust is actually a crime these days in this country. Sure he compromised his integrity, and that of the state; and yes, he may have taken advantage of a poor Black woman. But in this country were there's a high price to pay for being poor, this is to be expected. But it's my belief that this gentleman should never be allowed to work for any governmental agency in life ever again. I'd sure love to hear your thoughts on that. Or whether his actions were criminal and deserves jail time as Theola Nealy believes.

The real tragedy here, is that she is now separated from her children. Who knows if she'll be able to get them back. What's sad is that in her mind she did what she had to do for her kids. It may not have been the best decision in the world sleeping with her case worker. But hey, when it comes to your kids, most parents will do what they have to do. To me, the real f*cked up person in the head, is in fact the social worker. But I get the feeling that as always, it's the victim who will bear the brunt of the responsibility, and scrutiny. Hopefully her children doesn't wind up in the care of the system through Foster Care. If they do, speaking of mental health issues, hopefully this doesn't happen to them:

Hurricane Katrina: 4yrs later, and....

Isn't it quite telling how we're always reminded every year about the events of 9/11, but not the catastrophic event that was Hurricane Katrina? There are no memorial services, no moments of silence, no 24/7 documentaries on cable television that chronicles the event. Nope, it's almost as though it never happened. Here we are 4yrs later and people are still struggling in New Orleans. Well, for me, Hurricane Katrina is one event that has left a lasting impact on my life. No I wasn't there in New Orleans or nearby Biloxi Mississippi, but I did live on the Gulf Coast that day and several months after.

I lived in Pensacola Florida back then, and even to this day it's hard for me to even forget the events leading up to that day, and the days afterward. I don't know what was more terrifying: not knowing where the hurricane would hit land and being in its path, or watching what people endured and realizing that I too could have met such a fate. I'm sorry, but the combination of fear, disappointment, and the eventual anger was enough to make me move from the Gulf Coast the following year.

For the first time in my life I stared southern bred racism directly in the eye, as I watched displaced Black people bussed in to a shelter I volunteered at because "certain people" didn't want them in their "Lilly White" towns or neighborhoods in nearby Alabama. I met and spoke to people at that shelter who had no clue where they were, or even where other family members may be. I saw entire families sleeping in cars, babies and grown men crying; I saw a lot. To this day I don't know if it was worse watching what most people saw on television or living and seeing what I saw firsthand; I can't imagine being at ground zero, could you? And just think: four years later and people are still not where they should be.

I also remember the shock and horror of watching the World Trade Center fall on September 11th. I remember watching and thinking about my mother and the rest of my family and friends in New York City. Yes, that was indeed a morning full of terror, but I got over it eventually. I wish I could say the same thing about the events following Hurricane Katrina because I'm still mad. Sure it could be debated that the gov't had the power to prevent the 9/11 event; a debate often riddled with conspiracies. But I'm sorry, what they did not do in the wake of Katrina, or even in not repairing the levees in years prior is not debatable.

To me, it was no conspiracy, but instead affirmations that the lives of poor people - especially people of color - are disposable. But hey, I guess this would explain why it's easy for "certain people" to argue against social policies in this great nation of ours. After all, the underclass must be preserved at all costs, no? How ironic is it that Katrina has hit this country again in the form of our current economic meltdown? Payback maybe? How ironic is it that there are people who still believe that the gov't shouldn’t do anything to assist it's citizenry in these times while people are drowning...

Hurricane Katrina, just like 9/11 is one event that should never be forgotten. Yes, and just like my man Mos Def says in the song Katrina Clap: "Stop being cheap nigga, freedom ain't free!!" But I guess James Baldwin said it best when he said: "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time."

And now, I delectably present to you a song, most suitable for the occasion: