A friend called tonight to ask me about what her friend can do about a son who is seriously ill with a mental illness or, as I call it, a brain disease. Sad to say there is not much that can be done for her friend’s son even thought he is dangerous to himself and others. Now if this person was lying sick and unaware at his home with another other physical serious illness the parents could call an ambulance and take him to a hospital. I told her about getting a commitment order which is hard to do and does not really help if the county behavior health system releases him in a few days when he is still ill. In fact she told me, upon a complaint, the police had come out to his apartment, he resisted, the police teaser him and took him out to the mental health complex. However he was released in two days and stays very sick in his apartment.

In the Western world only in the USA does a poor person with a serious illness have no right to health care? If the poor person has a brain disease, like this young man, he has less a chance for health care. If the poor person with a brain disease is an African American man the chances of getting health care are slim. However, the chances of a young African American, with or without a mental illness, going to jail is extremely high. The largest populations of persons with mental illnesses are in our prisons and jails.

Prisons and jails costs society much more than health care but we choose prisons and jails for the poor, ill and young African American adults. It makes no sense but common sense is not a trademark of discrimination.

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