After graduating from college and before going to law school, I worked in a state mental hospital. Many of the patients, before they became ‘residents’ in more politically-correct times, had been there for years, some since childhood. The initial reasons for their admissions were lost in the mists of time. Nothing had been done for them …
After graduating from college and before going to law school, I worked in a state mental hospital. Many of the patients, before they became ‘residents’ in more politically-correct times, had been there for years, some since childhood. The initial reasons for their admissions were lost in the mists of time. Nothing had been done for them beyond the administration of anti-psychotic medication.
At that time, Thomas Szasz and his book ‘The Myth of Mental Illness’ became a bible for us young, crusading anti-war types, many of whom were there as alternative service to avoid the draft. Then came the movement to close the institutions, and patients, many of whom were long forgotten by their families, were turned out with nowhere to go, only a patchwork of community mental health services in place. They became the progenitors of today’s homeless with no idea how to take care of their daily needs - or even survive.
I think of this story often as a reminder of the harm the governing elites, in all their infinite wisdom, cause to others in the name of progress.
So I arrived in Houston to attend school at precisely that time. Those poor souls arrived at the downtown Greyhound bus dept with a few dollars and at most a small suitcase. Many never made it beyond a few blocks. Those who worked, and the few who lived, downtown were clueless as to how to help.
After graduating from college and before going to law school, I worked in a state mental hospital. Many of the patients, before they became ‘residents’ in more politically-correct times, had been there for years, some since childhood. The initial reasons for their admissions were lost in the mists of time. Nothing had been done for them beyond the administration of anti-psychotic medication.
At that time, Thomas Szasz and his book ‘The Myth of Mental Illness’ became a bible for us young, crusading anti-war types, many of whom were there as alternative service to avoid the draft. Then came the movement to close the institutions, and patients, many of whom were long forgotten by their families, were turned out with nowhere to go, only a patchwork of community mental health services in place. They became the progenitors of today’s homeless with no idea how to take care of their daily needs - or even survive.
I think of this story often as a reminder of the harm the governing elites, in all their infinite wisdom, cause to others in the name of progress.
So I arrived in Houston to attend school at precisely that time. Those poor souls arrived at the downtown Greyhound bus dept with a few dollars and at most a small suitcase. Many never made it beyond a few blocks. Those who worked, and the few who lived, downtown were clueless as to how to help.
Sometimes having someone to make sure you take your meds is a step up.