tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post5057527394187014798..comments2024-03-13T08:18:08.922+10:30Comments on Catdownunder: My godfathercatdownunderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08189081688973141295noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-62588212938434635862009-06-10T22:53:48.271+09:302009-06-10T22:53:48.271+09:30Grim subject. Good that you address it. And addres...Grim subject. Good that you address it. And address it so well. In the UK this 'integration' is called Care in the Community. It operates, as you might imagine, along similarly brutal lines.Motheratlargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08702824820715807897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-81531495915438859072009-06-10T15:47:10.514+09:302009-06-10T15:47:10.514+09:30Yes, "been there and done that" and more...Yes, "been there and done that" and more as they say. South Australia has minimal services and yes, there also has waiting lists....very long waiting lists. (One of our problems is trying to provide as much as a 'phone number for those in remote areas.) Tom refuses to identify with any group - a not uncommon problem of which you sound as if you would be fully aware of. His grandfather feels too old - he's 84 - and I cannot persuade him otherwise. He's just worn out and his daughter and her husband(Tom's parents) do not help.<br />The girl is at risk because of the people in her environment. I know she has 'lost' things on a number of occasions. Terri at the coffee shop says that she now comes out with very limited money - and someone called into the coffee shop to say that she had seen the school kids just walk up and take the chocolate from her. I talked to the school at Terri's request but the principal was not very sympathetic. (Mind you he was the one who also refused to do anything when a boy with cerebral palsy had his head pushed down the toilet and his books urinated on. His attitude - "they have to learn to defend themselves".)<br />I handle communication issues all the time and I know that it is much more complex than that! I just do not see that pushing them out all day is helping them at all. They need so much more but it costs and the present way of doing things is the cheap option, the cheapest option of all. It's a pretty sad reflection on the rest of us.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1663680578112260744.post-44916737951357363902009-06-10T13:39:47.117+09:302009-06-10T13:39:47.117+09:30Services really are important.
It isn't just ...Services really are important.<br /><br />It isn't just putting the people in the institutions.<br /><br />Do you have a <a href="http://www.mifsa.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/MIFSANews_aug_sept08.pdf" rel="nofollow">Mental Illness Fellowship</a> or similar organisation in South Australia? Because they could put the godfather and Tom in touch with services. (And, yes, there are services, but there are very big waiting lists: hard when one in five have a mental illness, mostly anxiety or clinical depression). Also there are user support groups so Tom could talk with other users (the voice hearing groups might be good). I hope that he doesn't have a dual diagnosis: mental health issues and substance abuse too.<br /><br />If people like Tom can communicate 'after a fashion' then they are likely to be reading and using this blog, and they could give you points from their perspective.<br /><br />As for the girl, she reminds me very much of a woman of nineteen in America. Her story is told on the site <a href="http://bipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Bipolar Soup Kitchen</a>. I don't see how staring into space makes you vulnerable, unless it is the frequency and intensity of it. It's good to see she has developed her own coping strategies to go to the coffee shop, Lindsay has too. And she obviously likes the outdoors, even in the rain. It really must have been terrifying for her and discouraging for you.Adelaide Duponthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01490123934889071074noreply@blogger.com