Too Difficult
To Get Help

This letter’s intent is to voice my concern regarding the accident on Friday, January 12 that took the life of Herbert Bisson in Granville. Although I had never met Herbert personally or had an encounter with him, this situation has a profound impact on me since I am saddened by the stigma of mental illness and the lack of resources for those suffering from mental illness. What disturbs me most is not only the sadness of a young life being taken by mental illness, but the thought that this could have been prevented.

I am personally affected by mental illness since my brother has spent the past 20 years incarcerated for a crime he committed while being in a psychotic state. At the time of his arrest, the authorities did not take into consideration that he had a mental illness; therefore, his illness was not diagnosed nor treated until a decade after he suffered from the affects of chronic schizophrenia with extreme paranoia and manic depression while being incarcerated.

He is now in a state mental institution and is doing remarkably well, despite the fact that he should have been originally committed to an institution, not prison. A few years ago my siblings and I thought our brother would never be able to integrate with society. So far with the help of antipsychotic medication he has amazed us by his progress and we are astonished by his desire and motivation to become independent. My brother’s situation has triggered something inside of me that has fueled my passion to advocate for the mentally ill.

I am concerned by the several reports I have heard of caring folks trying to reach out to authorities to get the help Herbert needed, only to learn that nothing was done. Last year, I recall hearing about how a concerned individual tried to get help for Herbert since it was apparent that he was in a psychotic state, and this individual did not want him to harm himself or others. However, pleas to the authorities were answered with "there is nothing we can do".

After hearing of this, I thought to myself this could happen to my brother when he becomes independent again - who will make sure that he takes his medication? Will someone look the other way or will they try to help him if he becomes psychotic? These thoughts and the realization that Herbert was the individual that died after several attempts to help him went unanswered compelled me to write this letter with the intent that it will provide some awareness and education.

In addition, individuals with mental illness and their families will become more empowered to voice their concerns instead of remaining silent as I once did in fear of the stigma that is associated with this horrific illness.

According to an article that appeared in Seven Days on Dec. 6, 2006 ("A Kinder Court" by Ken Picard), the Justice Department recently reported a record 7 million adults are now incarcerated in the United States, an increase of 35% in the last 10 years and 56% of these inmates have a "mental-health problem".

Furthermore, the article stated that funding has been slashed for community mental health services, psychiatric facilities around the country have closed, and patients have been deinstitionalized.

I know this first hand from my experience in getting my brother into a reputable treatment program. Would it make more sense to put more funding into awareness, education, and treatment for folks with mental illness than imprisoning them only to have the same individuals reenter our society still needing the services that should have been provided in the first place?

What is even more startling is that families who cannot find adequate services in their own communities often have no other choice but to call the police when a family member is in crisis. Unfortunately, in Herbert Bisson’s case I have come to the conclusion that the authorities did not think his situation was a crisis.

I contacted Corporal. Ray Keefe of the Vermont State Police Academy to find out if the states officers receive Crisis Intervention Team Training since research has shown that this form of training better prepares law officials on how to respond to individuals with mental illness. According to Corporal Keefe, the state does train police on how to respond in a mental health crisis, but many police have not yet completed this training. With this mind, I am still puzzled as to why the legal system makes it so difficult to get help for someone in crisis.

I have learned from my experience in helping my brother that one individual can make a difference, but I believe that a group of individuals can make a larger impact.

If you would like to do something positive to help remove the stigma surrounding mental illness and help educate the public, consider participating in the formation of a Hancock, Granville, Rochester team to participate in the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI WALK for the Mind of America on May 19 in Montpelier in memory of Herbert Bisson. You can contact me at 767-4870 for more information.

Tammy L. McKenzie

Granville

hthttp://wwwm.eu/CJCCOE/psych_services_feb_20062.pdftp:.neoucom.edu/CJCCOE/psych_services_feb_20062.pdfoucom.edu/CJCCOE/psych_services_feRb_20062.pdfntervention Team (CIT) program is a community partnership working with mental health consumers and family members. Our goal is to set a standard of excellence for our officers with respect to treatment of individuals with mental illness. This is done by establishing individual responsibility for each event and overall accountability for the results. Officers will be provided with the best quality training available, they will be part of a specialized team which can respond to a crisis at any time and they will work with the community to resolve each situation in a manner that shows concern for the citizen’s well being.