HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING HELP FOR A LOVED ONE WHO HAS DUAL DIGANOSIS?

Its no secret that correctional facilities and social programs lack the tools to help those who have dual diagnosis.

In the case of my b/f, which I posted on this board a few times, not only was he not getting the correct help(he was sent to the wrong rehab program) his caseworker was harrassing him and not giving him the important info he needed on his case. At one point while sitting in county jail waiting for another program the caseworker cancelled all his parole hearings (he was orginally in for a violation) and never told him WHY.

Myself and his mother would try to call and the woman was nasty as ever and would never answer our questions even after my b/f gave permission for us to access his records and talk to his case worker. Then the harrassment would be turned on us when she felt we were bothering her.

Now let me stop here and explain something. I know before on this board when I stated that his caseworker hated him and was harrassing him some posters found it hard to believe and probably thought I was being sensitive. The caseworker would tell my b/f he was faking mental illness, he liked to be in jail, she would make rude comments about his personal life using information that she got from his sponsor. (my b/f's former sponsor knows the caseworker and basically put all his personal information out in public because he was mad and disappointed that someone he worked so closely with relasped) Everytime my boyfriend would send her a note asking what is going on with his hearings or him going to a program she would come and literlly yell at him in front of CO's and other inmates. At one point she said she wasn't even bothering with his case anymore because he asked her a question about his case. When she saw that I was at a visit she would make nasty comments about me too. THIS IS HARRASSMENT.

SO what did we do in this situation?
First we started documenting everything she said and did-names, places, witnesses, and dates. I would go to the visit and see him and by the end of the day I had all the stuff I either saw or he told me written down.
Around this time my b/f became friends with another inmate who had this crazed wench as a caseworker and I was able to talk to his wife on numerous occations about what she was going through with the caseworker. This alliance would become important later.

My b/f also got all his paperwork together that orginally stated that he needed a MICAA program and sent it to the parole board. Although the said he was mandated to finish the program, it was their fault that they sent him to a non MICAA facility, which was a decision that ended up coming under a lot of question because it was clearly documented what he needed.

Secondly when realizing that calling the caseworker directly wasn't helping we called her supervisor. The supervisor was not happy about the fact that my b/f's mother was calling saying that the caseworker would never answer her son's questions and he hasn't seen her in 6 weeks nor would she return any calls. Later that day the caseworker called his mother back like a crazed banshee mad that his mother called the supervisor. She got in trouble but serves the witch right. Anyway in that convo the caseworker could not help herself with the snide remarks and inability to answer her questions so we moved to the next step.

His mother was given the number to NAMI, the mental health organization in NY, looking for an advocate. We ended up getting linked up with someone who handles the criminal justice cases. Although the man was busy he did return all our calls and documented everything we told him

He made numerous calls down to the county jail talking to the caseworker and her supervisor about our complaints, how we were being harrassed, why no one was discussing the case with my b/f and why he was sent to a rehab program they KNEW he would not be able to complete, especially when it said on his paperwork MICAA facility.

Needless to say, when he called, it was like Jesus Christ himself walked down the Hudson River because all the sudden the caseworker started showing up for her appointments with my b/f, answering his questions, being polite AND helpful. They even found him another program locally. There were times that she would revert to her usual nasty self because she was mad she was being babysat at work but what could really do? She had her supervisor and an outside agency watching her every move.

Now back to the my b/f's friend's wife. After our situation started moving headway I passed her the name and number of the person we talked to and encouraged her to call ASAP, which she did and like us the harrassment stopped and the case started moving forward, I haven't talked to her in 6 weeks but last i heard everything was moving along.

All in all this whole situation went on from August to October and if it wasn't for is finally calling in the mental health advocates he probably would be still in county staring at the 4 walls of his cell.

As it stands now today makes 9 months my man has been CLEAN 5 weeks that he has been home. He has been doing his mandated classes during the day and going to programs at nights and on weekends when he feels that he needs them.

So just to recap
*Document everything-names, dates, hearings, place, everything.
*Call the caseworker and their supervisors directly so that they can't claim you never contacted them about the situation
*Find others who have the same caseworker and the same issues you have-present a united front so you can complain. The same type of complaints about the same person CAN'T be untrue. In our case me and his mother complaining was enough, but the other woman he started her complaint was an added bonus IMO because I know the caseworker never saw that one coming and it just gave extra support to our harrassment claim
*FInd a mental health advocate in your area and call them. This is one of the things that they are supposed to do. Not only do they really care about the people they search, they are very knowledgable about the system, the laws, and the problems that dual diganosis inmates and their families face.

I'll try to come back to this thread to answer questions but also feel free to PM me. I hope this thread helps people because when I first came here there wasn't a lot of people actively posting that could answer my questions or share any success stories.

Delightful to hear of NAMI actually helping someone. For years, the organization served as little more than a promotional group for psychiatric meds. Advocacy is a far more useful function!

i enjoyed your post.very informative.its nice to have some good hard up incarcerated issues addressed to help one fix that nigging thought about something that just isnt right.wehn my fiancee first went in he suffered depression.had i know about the sight i could have asked for help but i wouldnt have known how to ask and y9our post was right on target if someone going through similiar problem.THANX

Thanks for the post. It gives me hope that success is possible. I don't understand the reluctance of the clinicians to recognize the connection between drug abuse and mental illness. Even now, my son, who is on meds, and who also has a habit of self-medicating, can join a drug abuse group, but is not eligible for a residential program unless he's off meds. Just doesn't make sense.

Fashionista, I have to admit I never thought I'd see a posting like this from you! (Due to the other matter). I am really happy for you both, he is a lucky man to have such two determined women looking out for him.

I am so frustrated at the entire situation. He was drunk and overmedicated at the time he threatened one of my male friends. He could barely stand and basically told him to get the F_ck out or he would f_ck him up. The other male friend (who 6'6 and 350lbs easy) warned my fiancee that if he had a problem with his friend, then he had a problem with him too. So, my fiancee traipsed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and told my big friend that he didn't have a problem with him but that he would protect himself. He told the first guy to leave again and we all told him to put the knife away before he hurt himself-he was no where near any of us and my big friend told him to either drop the knife or hand it to him. He walked up to my fiancee, my fiancee turned the handle towards my friend and handed it to him. His ex girlfriend who still holds a grudge cause he broke up with her 12 years ago had run out and called 911. She told the cop she felt threatened for her life, and now the man I love has been locked up for going on 10 months on this bs. She even admitted that she felt bad, she only thought he'd be "locked up for a couple of months". (She tried in Novemeber of 07 to get him on terrorists threats too) I asked her if she would tell the judge this and she said she didn't know. He never intended to hurt anyone, or he would have when my friend approached him for the knife-he was just being stupid and jealous over nothing and he felt threatened by my big friend's comment. I cannot believe how out of hand this has gotten! I know of people who have done less time for assault and battery. My fiancee has been taking psychotropic meds since he volutarily consented back in June. He is in oranges and yes, he has mental problems, yes he is an alcoholic who acknowledges his mistake and is more than willing to go to AA and whatever it takes. He is a good man. It's not fair. I can't believe they won't drop these bogus charges and he could face a strike. He doesn't belong in patton with people who are being tried for murder, rape, and other horrific things, and yes i know they are under investigation for staff bringing in illegal street drugs, overmedicating and restraining patients, mind-control, sexual abuse, and even deaths. He has progressed so much, i know he will lose it in there- i don't know who wouldn't. Then, they'll say he isn't competent and his case won't be heard for another 6 months! I just want to know if it's possible that next Monday they will find him competant even though he's never been transported to Patton state hospital and remains in jail, return him to court within a couple of weeks, they will either dismiss the case or drop it down to a misdemeanor, with credit for time served and let him come home? He has been incarcerated since January 4th. He had a nervous breakdown in jail. He isn't like some people you hear about who are "conditioned" to being in and out of the system and get used to being incarcerated and being told what to do or breaking the law. Neither am I, I would have gone crazy in there by now myself. In March, they requested he be evaluated for incompetancy. One of the psychiatrist's office didn't even send their report on time to the court, so the hearing had to be postponed even longer-another month! He was found incompetant in july based on doctor's reports that were over 4 months old. His progress report is due on oct 20, the minutes claim he is in patton, but he is in unit 15 in west valley. BY the way, does anyone know anything about this unit? This is a nightmare, and his rights for a speedy trial are being violated. I don't know what i will do if they find him incompetant on monday or say they have to wait six months now, because they didn't transfer him within the last 90 days since the court committed him because they had no bed space. That's not his fault, why should he have to suffer and spend more time locked up? He is receiving his meds in jail. He' s not crazy or a threat to anyone. He's never hurt anyone in his whole life. Myself and my two male friends all submitted statements on his behalf detailing what happened that night, that makes the DA's case weak. Anyone who can help me with their own experiences or advice would be sincerely appreciated! I am devastated and scared to death! :confused::angry::cry:

I'm sorry but things could be worse You could be in SC. I left my son in jail because as bad as it was he was safer there. The nurse made nurse Rachett look like Mother Theresa and my son was refused medications and counseling so he attempted suicide twice. Acording to the nurse that was his right. There is a book called CRAZY and the author's son and others he came into contact with were mentally ill. They went into jail were compliant with meds so able to stand trial, served time, came out went off meds homeless and sick got locked up again. We know these people are abused in prison but we just keep doing it to them. It is time for us to stand together for all the people who are in prison for behaviors beyond their control. For children kicked out of school for behaviors beyond their control. For parents blamed for these problems. For familes torn apart by these problems. No, You are not alone and for that reason we need to stand together. Vote tomorrow please.

Wow, this thread is scary :eek: