Recently the issue of mental health has taken the forefront in South Carolina. This was due to the sudden loss of a young police officer in Cayce, South Carolina, who lost his life to an individual with mental health issues.
The chances are everyone knows someone who is dealing with some form of a mental health issue. Whether it’s from the stress of finances or simply the day-to-day struggles of life. It could even be someone dealing with issues pertaining to their family.
The truth is we don’t think of many individuals with problems such as addicts or alcoholics as being in that same category of mental health issues. We separate mental health issues as individuals who are unstable in some form. The truth is mental health issues come in many forms.
Everyone deals with some sort of mental health issue. But is there really help for people dealing with mental health issues large and small in South Carolina?
Victims of Domestic Violence only receive help for the most part if there are criminal charges involved in their case. Otherwise, the help they are given is limited and very basic at best. These victims can only receive the mental health help they need if they are capable of paying for it.
Addicts are pretty much ignored when it comes to their issues. Most addicts again are given very basic help to end their addiction, but no help when it comes to the mental health issues of what brought them to being an addict, or the mental struggle of ending their addiction.
It is true that South Carolina has many facilities for mental health care, but not to those who are left on their own without financial means of seeking such help.
Let’s talk about public service personnel such as law enforcement and fire fighters who many times have to deal with individuals who suffer from mental health issues. Are these front line people getting the training they so need to deal properly with mental health incidents that they are thrown into?
Should they be required to take a course in properly assessing and dealing with individuals who suffer from mental health issues? Should they themselves have to undergo a yearly evaluation for mental health to retain their position due to the many dangers they witness on the job?
In many other states programs exist for individuals seeking help free of charge. Even online in our now technological world one can see more and more free resources for people to simply speak with someone about their issues. Even though many of these sources are not professional therapists it shows a cry from individuals who are seeking help but can not afford professional care.
So does help really exist for individuals with mental health issues in South Carolina? Should the state be responsible and form programs to give professional help to individuals needing and seeking long term assistance without the worry of being labeled or the worry of cost?
Naturally, the thought of a State carrying such a financial cost long term or independently is un-realistic. But can States begin a process for individuals needing mental health aid and them in continuing their much needed assistance.
We must also face the fact that thousands of individuals in South Carolina fall in the cracks of the very Judicial Branch that is suppose to aid individuals with mental health problems. The Probate Courts of South Carolina are very limited on resources when it comes to issuing an order to have someone committed to a facility to provide them with the help they require. Currently in South Carolina only family and spouses can insist on commitments. Loved ones such as friends, boyfriends and girlfriends have no input on such issues. Social Workers who aid in the evaluations are ill educated and overworked. And many times do not even reach out to these 3rd parties for information in order to properly aid the mental health issue.
This is another aspect of other States such as Oklahoma that allows all individuals to give input and information on an individual when it comes to mental health. A boyfriend of 5 years would have much needed information on a patient that they had been living with for 5 years, than a mother who has not seen her daughter in 2 years. So, other States have opened the information gathering gridlocks for evaluators and social workers, while South Carolina keeps a tight grip on theirs.
We as a State and Society, tend to forget that many individuals who deal with all kinds of mental health issues medicate in different ways. Alcohol, pills, self-harm, isolation and even sex are many ways these individuals self medicate to deal with their issues. Is it time that South Carolina re-evaluates its Mental Health Crisis approach before another individual becomes a statistical number?