Read Online A Gift of Hope: Helping the Homeless by Danielle Steel - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Danielle Steel
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homeless people are suffering from some form of mental illness, and they’re not getting the help they need.
In San Francisco, a statute of the health code called a 5150 allows you to hospitalize persons exhibiting inappropriate or bizarre behavior for seventy-two hours for evaluation. That gives mental health professionals three days to study their behavior and make a decision as to whether or not they are a danger to themselves or others. If not, it is nearly impossible to extend the three days for a longer period (with the help of a 5250). But sometimes it takes longer than three days to assess a psychiatric problem. And it seems to me that it’s not enough time to determine if they are indeed a danger to themselves or others. And what if others are a danger to them? We can’t hospitalize these people to protect them, no matter how vulnerable their state or confused their mind. As long as they arenot “dangerous,” they are free to go, back to a world where they are preyed upon, in constant danger, and in no condition to cope with the rigors of street life or the constant threats lurking there. Sometimes, no matter how sad, that decision should be taken out of their hands.
Homelessness is not just about not having a job or an apartment. Too often homelessness is due to a disordered mind. It’s more obvious in some cases than others, and some people are less able to comply with society’s rules than others. But in far too many cases, the mentally ill are falling through the cracks and have nowhere to go. You see them pushing their carts as they talk to themselves, sleeping in doorways, living in cardboard boxes, soaking wet and freezing cold. They are no danger to you, perhaps, but they are unable to help themselves. And those of us who so desperately want to take care of them, family or others, have no way to reach out to them, get help, or bring them home. I think it is one of society’s greatest problems today, an urban problem that is out of control, and our existing laws are doing nothing to help us stem the tide.
In this instance, laws that protect a few are hurting many, many more. It hurts to put someone in a mental hospital. I know. I’ve done it. But it hurts far, far more to see them flounder on the street, and perhaps watch them die there when theywouldn’t otherwise. Simply put, we need better, more efficient laws to help solve the problem. And the reality is that even many who seem functional at first glance really aren’t.
I believe only a tiny fraction of people are on the streets because of slim savings, mismanaged funds, or the loss of a job. Most of the homeless are there because they cannot function in our society, and are too disabled in some way to access the help they need. They are lost out there on their own. It’s up to us to find them and do something to help. Like drowning people, they can’t save themselves. If they are to be saved, it’s up to us, the functioning members of society, to do it. If they were capable of doing it, they wouldn’t be out there. So what do we do now? Turn our backs and let them drown, or do something about it? I hope that our communal answer will be to reach out a hand and help in any way we can, large or small. And in time, our legislators need to address the issues by providing better laws to allow us to help them.
Homelessness is not one of the “sexy” or appealing causes that make people rush forward to help. For the most part, the homeless are not adorable, appealing children with sunny smiles. They are tired and broken, they have lost teeth and arms and legs from festering wounds. They smell bad, they need a bath. They frighten us, not just in their appearance or behavior, but because if we look at them more closely, we cannothelp but fear that something similar could happen to us or someone we love. But just as much as any of our friends or relatives, they desperately need our help. Like most children, they cannot find their way back by
In San Francisco, a statute of the health code called a 5150 allows you to hospitalize persons exhibiting inappropriate or bizarre behavior for seventy-two hours for evaluation. That gives mental health professionals three days to study their behavior and make a decision as to whether or not they are a danger to themselves or others. If not, it is nearly impossible to extend the three days for a longer period (with the help of a 5250). But sometimes it takes longer than three days to assess a psychiatric problem. And it seems to me that it’s not enough time to determine if they are indeed a danger to themselves or others. And what if others are a danger to them? We can’t hospitalize these people to protect them, no matter how vulnerable their state or confused their mind. As long as they arenot “dangerous,” they are free to go, back to a world where they are preyed upon, in constant danger, and in no condition to cope with the rigors of street life or the constant threats lurking there. Sometimes, no matter how sad, that decision should be taken out of their hands.
Homelessness is not just about not having a job or an apartment. Too often homelessness is due to a disordered mind. It’s more obvious in some cases than others, and some people are less able to comply with society’s rules than others. But in far too many cases, the mentally ill are falling through the cracks and have nowhere to go. You see them pushing their carts as they talk to themselves, sleeping in doorways, living in cardboard boxes, soaking wet and freezing cold. They are no danger to you, perhaps, but they are unable to help themselves. And those of us who so desperately want to take care of them, family or others, have no way to reach out to them, get help, or bring them home. I think it is one of society’s greatest problems today, an urban problem that is out of control, and our existing laws are doing nothing to help us stem the tide.
In this instance, laws that protect a few are hurting many, many more. It hurts to put someone in a mental hospital. I know. I’ve done it. But it hurts far, far more to see them flounder on the street, and perhaps watch them die there when theywouldn’t otherwise. Simply put, we need better, more efficient laws to help solve the problem. And the reality is that even many who seem functional at first glance really aren’t.
I believe only a tiny fraction of people are on the streets because of slim savings, mismanaged funds, or the loss of a job. Most of the homeless are there because they cannot function in our society, and are too disabled in some way to access the help they need. They are lost out there on their own. It’s up to us to find them and do something to help. Like drowning people, they can’t save themselves. If they are to be saved, it’s up to us, the functioning members of society, to do it. If they were capable of doing it, they wouldn’t be out there. So what do we do now? Turn our backs and let them drown, or do something about it? I hope that our communal answer will be to reach out a hand and help in any way we can, large or small. And in time, our legislators need to address the issues by providing better laws to allow us to help them.
Homelessness is not one of the “sexy” or appealing causes that make people rush forward to help. For the most part, the homeless are not adorable, appealing children with sunny smiles. They are tired and broken, they have lost teeth and arms and legs from festering wounds. They smell bad, they need a bath. They frighten us, not just in their appearance or behavior, but because if we look at them more closely, we cannothelp but fear that something similar could happen to us or someone we love. But just as much as any of our friends or relatives, they desperately need our help. Like most children, they cannot find their way back by
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