It is with much sadness that I am noting the death of Zac Pogliano, whose mother, Laura, has been a tireless advocate for mental health care and reforms. Mother and son told their stories eloquently to USA TODAY for its wonderful series: Mental Illness: The Cost of Not Caring. In August 2013, Laura wrote a blog post for me entitled: A Police Officer Who Did the Right Thing: Helped My Son When I Couldn’t. According to friends, Zac died during his sleep. No cause has yet been reported.

I have admired Laura for some time and am tremendously sorry for her loss and the loss of her wonderful son as an advocate. Many of their friends have commented about Zac’s death at Treatment Before Tragedy on Facebook.  For those of you who didn’t know Laura or Zac, here is the USA TODAY series about them.

USA TODAY: The Fortunate Mother: Caring for a son with schizophrenia

November 16, 2014

DESPITE HARDSHIPS, A MOTHER KNOWS IT COULD BE WORSE

By Rick Hampson

TOWSON, Md. — She says she’s lucky, even though her son’s mental illness has driven her to bankruptcy, sidetracked her career and left her clinically depressed.

She’s lucky, even though his illness cost her the time to plan her daughter’s wedding and the money to pay for it. Even though her only friends now are ones who accept last-minute cancellations of long-made plans. Even though she can’t recall the last time she went out on a date.

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No one knew why he pulled away

And curled up in a ball in his room where he stayed

What’s wrong, his father and mother said

I’m hearing strange voices inside of my head

Ronald Hunter Jr. froze to death last week in Buffalo, New York.

As reported by Buffalo News reporter Lou Michel, the 21-year-old Hunter was homeless and mentally ill when he died from hypothermia alone and disoriented in two-degree weather with a wind chill that hit 20 degrees below zero. A surveillance video camera on a nearby building captured his final moments in a desolate section of a business park. He had removed his jacket and was trying to take off his shirt.

His father told the newspaper that Hunter first began acting strange shortly after he turned eighteen. “I found him curled up in a ball in the corner of a bedroom, and I said, “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I’m hearing voices telling me to kill myself,” he replied. His parents called crisis services and they diagnosed him with schizophrenia and behavioral disorders. “But because he was eighteen, it was up to him if he wanted help.”

When Chester Ray Maternick read the Buffalo newspaper account of Hunter’s death, he began to weep.

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The release of RESILIENCE, the memoir that I helped Jessie Close write, gave Glenn and Jessie Close the opportunity to appear together on the Dr. Oz show to discuss mental illness. Here is a a transcript of that show as reported and posted on RECAPO.

I’m thrilled that Jessie is using the release of the book to show the public a different face in the media than the one they usually see associated with mental illness.

Dr Oz: Glenn Close & Her Sister Jessie      FROM RECAPO

As Dr Oz so kindly put, Glenn Close is one of the finest actresses of her generation. But it’s what happened off screen that truly inspired Dr Oz and those that know more about Glenn Close than the characters she played. She was born into a privileged family with a lineage of wealth. Glenn’s mother and surgeon father frequently moved Glenn and her three siblings to serve as missionaries in a cult-like religious movement. It was Glenn’s sister Jessie who seemed to have the hardest time with her family’s unconventional lifestyle.

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NEWS ABOUT RESILIENCE: Jessie Close and I will be speaking at a book party Tuesday, January 13^th, at Fountain House in Manhattan beginning at 6 p.m. Fountain House is a fabulous clubhouse program whose roots date back to the 1940s. If you would like to attend, please send an RSVP via e-mail to Ashley Womble at awomble@fountainhouse.org. Unfortunately, Glenn Close will not be there since she is appearing in a Broadway play.

Glenn and Jessie will be featured on the CBS Morning News that Tuesday morning and will be on the Dr. Oz show on Wednesday. 

How Can One Defendant Be Legally Insane And The Other Not Insane When They Both Commit The Same Crime?

Washington Post reporter Dan Morse has been covering a horrific case that raises thorny questions about our criminal justice system and defendants suspected of having mental disorders.  

 

Two Washington D.C. area women are about to go on trial in Maryland for stabbing four children, two fatally, as part of an exorcism.

A psychiatrist has told the court that Monifa Sanford, age 22, was legally insane when she participated in the stabbings. However, a different psychiatrist told the court that Sanford’s cohort, Zakieya Avery, age 29, was not insane when the stabbings happened.

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1-8-2015  From My Files Friday:  More than four years ago, I wrote about how a lack of communication frequently prevents persons with mental disorders from getting meaningful help. Unfortunately, this continues to be a major problem in many communities. In a recent conversation, Judge Steven Leifman, who is featured in my book, CRAZY: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, told me there are more than four dozen different mental health providers in Miami/Dade County and everyone one of them has a different way of handling patients. There is no sharing of information so a client may be diagnosed by one provider and given a prescription and then go across town to another, get a different diagnosis and a different prescription.

In this earlier blog post, I describe how Judge Leifman has been trying to bring order out of chaos.

WE NEED TO BEGIN TALKING TO EACH OTHER IF WE WANT TO FIX OUR SYSTEM  (First published 7-26-10)

During my travels, I’ve visited many communities where there is little or no communication. The police don’t talk to local providers who take care of persons with mental disorders and substance abuse issues. These providers don’t talk to each other. Because of HIPAA, no one wants to talk to parents. Oftentimes, patients and their advocates are not properly informed or asked their opinions.

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