Jessica Ferguson
Appearances
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
The mental health unit is dorm style, one big room, 40 some odd beds, everyone living in the same space.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
depending on your personality, that sounds wonderful or that sounds awful. For his personality, that sounds awful. He's like, no, our personalities are very different and that sounds awful to me. So it was either that or stay where he's at in this room by himself. So he was like, I'm all set.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I'm going to stay by myself, which meant he was very isolated, very like not healthy for anybody, any human being. Like he didn't have interactions with anyone. He was in a cell by himself, essentially 24 hours a day. Whereas before at the psychiatric hospital, he could walk around. There was TV. He had a TV in his room. This place, he wasn't allowed to have a TV in his room.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He had a little tablet that he could get movies on. But for some reason, his tablet never worked for movies. He ate all of his meals in his cell by himself. He didn't even get to go to the cafeteria. It was just awful, awful, awful in my eyes. The alternative also sounds awful to me. So I don't know. Pick the lesser of the evils. So after four months there, I don't really know how it happened.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He must have raised his hand and said, I want to be reevaluated for competency. And again, this also this time, like I'm advocating more and like talking to his lawyer and saying, I begged them not to move him from a psychiatric hospital. I begged them. I said, it's not right. This is where he's gotten well. He's about to go through a very stressful time. He needs support.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Those supports are not going to be in the jails. You know, I was on the phone with the director of clinical services. I was on the phone with the state hospital. I was just talking to anyone I could talk to because I know that some people have been able to stay in the psychiatric hospital, but I don't know what the magic button is. No one is telling me what the magic button is.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And then just kind of navigating the system and, you know, trying to get him help, you know, the next three to four or five months or so. And just constantly being, you know, involuntary hospitalizations for 72 hours and left back out without any kind of involvement of the family or any care plan put in place. even though we're begging, please keep him. He's just not right.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I know he was unhappy. When he got to the jail, he asked me, please just don't meddle too much because this is jail and I don't want to be like retaliated against because you're being, you know, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, poke. I respected his wishes and I really like laid off. The family engagement person at the jail just kind of irked me within the first week anyways.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
When I emailed her asking her questions, she flat out told me, please don't email me this much. I am only one person. Just call me. And I was like, can you say that? Like, don't email you. So I talked to the director of medical services at the jail once. She was very nice, but didn't really get anywhere with it.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So he must have raised his hand and got reevaluated, which meant that he was sent back to Bridgewater in September. They took about, I think, 40 days to evaluate him. And then he was deemed not competent again. So he is committed to Bridgewater again for up to six months. So he's there now. I guess he's better, I guess. But it's hard to stay hopeful in these situations.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I mean, his life has been on hold for over a year and a half. And it's like, you know, you don't have any end in sight. The possibilities of what could happen are terrifying. So is he in a good place mentally? Hopefully not. Who would be?
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Just a public defender. I'm not sold on him, but I don't really know what other choice we have. I mean, obviously he has gone through whatever hoops he needs to go through because he's a private lawyer that I guess, you know, Massachusetts contracts out their public defenders, I guess. So he's gone through whatever hoops he has to go through to have cases of this caliber.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So it's not that I don't think that he's not knowledgeable in law. I'm just not convinced he's truly, truly knowledgeable in what mental health means and serious mental illness means. I think that, you know, when we ask him, he's like, well, every homicide case basically involves mental health. And I'm like, okay, sure, you're probably right.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
But I don't get the impression he's going to bat for him like 150%. Like, why is he not fighting to keep him at Bridgewater and raise his hand and explain why? And I think he just doesn't truly get it. He will just, when I bring it up to him, he just regurgitates the law to me. And I was like, you're not understanding me. Like the supports are not there.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And he's just like, well, the jail has been deemed acceptable. And I'm like- Okay. I hear you. I hear you. So I've had some conversations with him. I feel like I'm in an odd place. Like I try not to meddle too much and I'm trying to still get my brother's buy-in because I can be part of the conversations with him and the lawyer. I think my brother at this point hasn't wanted me to be.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And I think, don't know if it's because there are things that he doesn't want me to see or hear or whatever. And I'm not saying I need to be part of like the what happened conversations, but like maybe some of the strategy conversations I could be part of, or like, even if he's deemed competent, Can a request be made into the judge for him to remain where he's at while he's awaiting trial?
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I think that I'm more outspoken than my brother, but he also doesn't know anything. I mean, all this happened, he's been thrown in this hole. He doesn't have access to Google. He doesn't know what his options are. He just knows what he knows, which isn't a whole lot because this isn't our world. So I'm still trying to convince him that I at least should be part of those conversations.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And truthfully, you know, we were like, big question, Massachusetts is always, are they a harm to themselves or others? And of course, at the time, I'm like, of course, I'm going to answer honestly, like, no, I'm not afraid of him or anything. I mean, if anything, at that time, I was probably more afraid something was going to happen to him. Like he was hit by a car or something like that.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
She is to an extent, but I mean, she has a kid and I feel like I just have a little bit more time on my hands to deal with this. And so I think she plays the younger sibling role very well. Like somebody else will take care of that. I'm just so farther down the road than she is. You know, if she wants to know something, she'll ask. Otherwise, she just kind of stays out of it.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Of course, she keeps in touch with him and talks to him on the phone and writes letters and that sort of thing. But like in terms of the advocacy and figuring it out and all of that, that's not really her.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Yes, yes, yes, yes. I think that they have helped him. However, I will say at the state hospital he's at, one issue I will say we're seeing is that, you know, he's had this illness for 20 plus years. So he's been through lots of therapy and lots of whatever. So I kind of liken it to a school system. Like he done kindergarten level work. He's done first grade level work.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And I feel like the state hospital really only goes up to like grade three and he's more like a seventh, eighth grade level. So in terms of the therapy there, he's quite frankly bored. It's hard for him to engage with it because, and I guess they, you know, they play to the lowest common denominator. And so some of the denominators are pretty low.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
To a certain extent, they aren't able to service him at the level that I think he probably needs to be serviced at at this point. But it's far better than what he would get in jail, which would be nothing.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Um, well, I mean, I think in hindsight, I wish that I kind of knew all this before you're in the middle of the crisis. So learn everything you can before there's a crisis happening because it's really hard to learn on the go.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
In Massachusetts specifically, we're missing a key tool in our toolbox, which is AOT, the Assisted Outpatient Therapy, to allow for more involuntary and the courts to be involved in more treatment plans that are followed by the courts.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Because having these people go to these hospitals, whether even if it's for three days, two weeks or whatever, I mean, I think he got released with a 30-day supply of medication and was told good luck. I mean, that's not going to help anybody. There needs to be a better systematic care plan in place.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So I guess to other family members, I would say, you know, just educate yourself as much as you can because you never know when you're going to might need that need to know what to do. Like those behavioral helplines, while they are certainly a tool in the toolbox, when you're dealing with someone who's in psychosis and well past understanding that they're sick, you know,
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Like he wouldn't be paying attention. And he had odd behaviors at that point. He was walking around barefoot. So like I was fearing like, is he going to step on a nail or something like that? I don't know. But anyways, so goes through that whole process back and forth, back and forth, gets let out.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Our senators and lawyers need to realize that those helplines fit a certain segment. There's another segment afterward that still needs help, and they need help just like somebody with Alzheimer's. You know, you find your grandma walking outside in her pajamas and no slippers on. You're going to do something. You're going to tell them you cannot be outside.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
You're going to involuntarily take them inside. The same should be true of someone that's in psychosis. They're human beings, you know, and their brains are flexing and not flexing correctly. And they just need some support and not to be left like, good luck. You know, hope it works out for you.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Yes. Agreed. Very overwhelming. Very, very overwhelming. I don't know if he would have agreed, but maybe before all this had happened, just having myself or my sister be healthcare proxy, because most doctors and hospitals protect themselves by HIPAA. Sorry, HIPAA, I can't do it. And they hide behind the HIPAA curtain. So HIPAA needs to be rewritten. And I've heard that it has been.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I guess we're going to probably need to educate everyone that has been rewritten or rewarded a little bit to better help people in situations like my own. So if someone's in psychosis or not mentally well, then yes, you can talk to a family member or the appropriate person regarding their care. Then really the families are the ones on the front lines.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
These doctors need to partner with us and realize that we know our loved ones best. We're not just saying these things to be annoying. We know them better than anyone. So just partner with us and helping them because together we can like get this person on right path. People with serious mental illness are able to live normal lives. They just need help getting up when they fall. That's all.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Yeah, no problem. I appreciate you talking to me and thanks for getting the word out.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Ten days after his third hospitalization in three or four months, he's being accused of a triple homicide.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I couldn't tell you what happened that day, if he did it or not, or all I can say at this point is that he is accused of it. The silver lining is now they've given him help the past year. So maybe if they had done all of that back when we were screaming for them to do it, he wouldn't have even been in a position, meaning he would have been like in a hospital situation. to be accused of anything.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So I think that, you know, it's like Massachusetts, and again, I can only speak for Massachusetts, almost the only way to get them help is for them to get caught doing something or in trouble for doing something. Then they're finally like, oh, well, yes, he needs to be hospitalized. Well, yes, he actually needed that months ago. And when I told you that, he didn't want to listen.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So that's kind of the short version of my story.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Just looking back on everything. I mean, there's just so much leading up to it. Like, honestly, I didn't know. Like, I'm the older sister. I mean, some people, some family members are like the parents and they've been in it forever. Like, my relationship with my sibling was, I was his sibling. Seven years ago, our mother passed away. So I'm the oldest sibling. So I guess I'm taking on that role.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And I was just learning as I go. First hospitalization, I think I thought, oh, they let him out. Doctors are the experts, so he must be fine. He's good. Like, of course they would let him out. You know, he called me on a Wednesday in the middle of the day. Come pick me up. Oh, OK. They're just letting you out.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
That's I guess that's how it works, because that was my experience with hospitals at that point. I mean, I've gotten colonoscopies before and they won't let me drive myself home or let alone leave the office without someone physically coming up. You cannot take a taxi. You cannot take an Uber. They're letting my brother out. Okay, they know. Doctors are the experts, right?
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And that's when I started to realize, you know, he gets home and my sister, she's like, yeah, he's not okay.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He is, let me do some math here, 42 right now. Okay, 42. So when did this all start? This happened in 2023, so he was 41.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
The words my sister and I would use to another, he's just off. And the final catalyst for us to call our mobile crisis unit was she called me at like 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning. It was like he's taken everything out of his room. Many years ago, he's had other episodes, you know, again, this point had been about a decade ago.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He'd kind of gone through this like purging of all of his things, perfectly good things. There's nothing wrong with them. And so he completely emptied out his entire bedroom and was, you know, taking mattresses outside and just desks, everything out of his room. And when we asked him what he's doing, he's on winter cleaning. That point, I said, he was still at a point where he was agreeable.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I said, you know, why don't we call your care team and see, just have someone come out and talk to you. And he was fine with that. In Massachusetts, you have the mobile crisis to come out. The patient has to agree to it. Everything in Massachusetts is very voluntary. Like they won't let you, there's not a whole lot of like involuntary. So you have to have their buy-in. So at that point-
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Sure, they can come. Like, you know, he's very agreeable at this point. And the mobile crisis unit clinician came out. At that point, it wasn't like, take him away. Or I wasn't saying take him away. I was like, someone just evaluate him. So they were going to evaluate him. Well, when the clinician got there, he kind of was like, I'm not ready to talk to them. took his time.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And then we kind of left him out, gave him some space, left him outside for about five minutes. And once we went outside to go get him, he was gone. And so then it turned into this like, well, where is he? Where is he? When the clinician saw that behavior, the clinician made the determination that he needs to go to, based on what I'm seeing, the little I've seen, he needs to go and be hospitalized.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So the clinician is the person that pink slipped him. That's what started it. And then even after that first hospitalization, he was still at a point mentally where he was agreeable or at least playing the game. And, you know, he allowed us to be part of the conversations with his clinician and his prescriber.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
We got on Zoom calls with him and his prescriber, and he was, you know, willing for us to have this be part of the conversation. Meanwhile, I'm also emailing the clinician because they're seeing him for 45 minutes on a Tuesday. And I'm seeing him all week. And so I'm emailing them and being like, just so you know, this is what we're seeing. We're still concerned. We don't think something's right.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And they were kind of like, okay, yeah, okay. And then it got to the point by March that he had determined, my brother had said, must have told the conditions, you can no longer speak to them. So then they were like, we hear you. But unfortunately, I am not able to speak to you about him any longer. So at that point, he kind of cut us off. And that's when it was steady decline down. So-
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
you know, March, I kind of like backed off. And my younger sister was saying, you know, he's annoyed at you being pestering and, you know, meddling. So I kind of backed off. I was like, all right, I'm going to give him some space. Like, and again, I'm not a medical mental health expert. I had no idea how to like handle this. I'm just trying to take my best guess at things.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I'm calling, we have a behavioral health fund. I'm calling them and they're telling me, oh, take him to this walk-in clinic. They can observe him. I'm like, I'm I don't think he's going to go for that. At this point, he's like turned off by anything that I have to say. Like I'm just a thorn in his side. I suggested to him as suspected. No. A friend of his suggested to him. No.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So he kind of just I would say by April, May, we're like just kind of like standing by being like somebody pick him up and take him to the hospital again. Like I don't know what else to do because it is hard to be like the one to pick up the phone and be like,
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
take my brother to the hospital i mean you don't want to be the bad guy or anything like that at that point like also like i had no idea what a rogers guardianship was or what kind of options there were other than this 800 behavioral health line that i've heard about and this mobile crisis unit that i had already called once before and at this point they had told me that he needs to agree to it so i i'm like he's not gonna agree to it so why am i gonna bother calling them again
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So in May, the police ended up picking him up and taking him to the hospital on their own. I don't know exactly what happened, but there was some incident. We were like, oh, thank God. And it was kind of near Memorial Day weekend or so. He was there a little bit longer than just the three days. I think it had to do with like weekends don't count. And then you had a holiday in there.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I think something to that effect. And again, I'm not exactly sure. So I ended up being there a little bit longer. I didn't have any direct conversations with anyone at that hospital. stay. Again, at that point, I was kind of like, I don't know what to do. Like, he's bothered by me. His friend and my sister were probably a little bit more involved with that hospital stay.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And by a little bit more, I mean, maybe there was like a phone call. But again, they released him, sent him home in an Uber. My sister had talked to them, but they didn't tell her like, oh, this is the care plan. Oh, do you want to come pick him up? There was nothing. It was just like, here's your, you know, voucher for an Uber ride to wherever you want. Bye.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Again, he comes home and we're all like, yeah, he's not okay. Like, no. And at this point, he's quit his job. He had a full-time job and then had also worked part-time. After his first hospitalization, he quit his full-time job. Sometime in the end of May, so probably after the second hospitalization, he quit his part-time job. So he's not working. He has no money.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Because at this point, like any money he could get his hands on, it was spent within before it even hit his pocket. And so by June 11th, I was driving by his house, and his stuff is outside again. He brought everything outside of his room. After the first time, I went and, like, retrieved everything, you know, out from the garage he'd put it in, wherever he'd put it around the house.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I had retrieved it all. He had taken his mattress back outside. Some of my belongings are outside, and I'm, like, one, irritated that my stuff's outside, and, like, what is he doing? And I was like, that's it. I'm calling, like, this is ridiculous. I called 911 and told them, like, listen, please come. Because again, that's what I thought you did. I didn't know.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
It was either mobile crisis or the police. I don't know. So they came. He disappeared. They looked for him. And they got him again. And they brought him back to the same hospital he went to the second time. Again, there was very little communication with the family. And then we hadn't heard anything. And so I called. Like, hey, I'm just calling to see what's going on. I haven't heard anything.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And they're like, yeah, we're releasing him today. I'm like, I'm sorry, what? Like, yeah, we're releasing him. I was like, um, no, no, this is, and I go into this whole spiel about this is the third time, you know, whatever months we've already done this 72 hour whole thing. He needs to stay longer, like blah, blah, blah, blah.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And they're like, yeah, well, this is only his second time here at this hospital. So we can't keep him longer. And I was like, but this is the third time in a hospital. Like, I don't understand. And they're like, well, let me see what we can do. And I think, you know, listen, I've worked at customer service. They're just trying to talk me off the ledge.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So they got me off the phone for five minutes, call me back. And they're like, yeah, we talked to the doctor. There's unfortunately we can't, can't do anything. If you want to go to, and now mind you, this is the middle of my work day. I'm sitting in my car, like talking to them. They're like, if you know, if you want to file with the courts, you can, but you have to get a lawyer. I
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I don't know anything about this. You're telling me this at the final hour that this is my option. Like, OK, thanks for nothing. I don't know. So I was like, I don't even know what to do with it. I don't know what you're what you're saying means.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And so then my sister calls. My sister lives with him, with her child, who's young, elementary school age, begging them, please, like, don't bring him home. Of course, is he a danger to himself or others? And she's like, I mean, he's doing things that could be dangerous. You know, he's bringing tiki torches into our house. He's leaving pots on our stove and just forgetting about them.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And, you know, they're burning. Like, so yes, something could happen. They're like, yeah, no, that's... There's nothing we can do. We're so sorry.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I think I was just kind of calling this behavioral helpline. All they were telling me was to go to these clinics. I was like, well, that's not an option. And I think that I just was at a loss. I didn't know what to do at this point. Hadn't really been connected. I tried calling at some point NAMI.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
I heard they had a family to family class, but I had missed the start of it because I think it started in March. So I didn't get any information that way. And I really didn't hadn't dug into NAMI and all the different resources that they do have. Again, I'm learning this like mid crisis in the midst of everything. I'm working full time. I have my own life like that. I don't know.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Yeah, no problem. No problem.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So was I doing anything profound at that point? Probably not. But again, I didn't necessarily think that, like, I wasn't afraid that he was going to hurt himself. Like I said, more of a had odd behavior, you know, like, again, walking around barefoot or, you know, going to open houses for million dollar homes. He doesn't have a penny to his name. Like,
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
But then telling me, Jeff, I think I found the one. This is the house. This is going to be the house. And I'm like, just, you know, obviously not in reality.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
After being accused, I mean, we're in the midst of it now. The system is a mess. It's a complete mess. He's sent to the state psychiatric hospital. When he was accused, police took him to the hospital because they were like, oh, he needs to be hospitalized. And from the hospital, he was not there for 72 hours. They took him to jail. Then from jail, he was acting psychotic.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
So I have a sibling who has severe mental illness. And at the beginning of 2023, he's been very, he'd been with his treatment for the last, he's had it for 20 years, but I mean, so the last 10 years he's been stable and fine. In the beginning of 2023, we started to notice some changes going on. He was not quite himself.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
And you're like, we can't do this. This is not us. Within 24 to 48 hours of being in jail, he's sent to the state psychiatric hospital, which for men is run by the Department of Corrections. It's not run by our Department of Mental Health. The Department of Corrections hires a contractor to... handle the medical needs. So he was sent there and he was there for 11, almost 12 months.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He was found not competent to stand trial for the first 11 or so months. So he was receiving care. I mean, he was medical compliant. Like he was, you know, not... Confident to stand trial. It doesn't really mean like, are you acting crazy? It's just, can you aid in your defense? He was found not competent. But at this point, we're able to visit with him. We'll have meals with him, like visitation.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Over time, got much more closer to his baseline. Much more recognizable as who we know.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He was then found confident to stand trial, which then means, oh, back to jail for you. While they claim there's mental health care there, the mental health care for him consisted of once a week, a clinician stopped by his cell for 10 to 15 minutes. And that was it. And he got his medication every day.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
He came in, there's an intake unit that you go into the intake unit for 72 hours so they can observe you, especially when you're coming from the psychiatric hospital. So he was in a cell by himself for the first 72 hours. It was very difficult to understand, like the prison, the actual jail operates completely different than the psychiatric hospital.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
The psychiatric hospital, again, is overseen by the Department of Corrections. The jail is overseen by the county sheriff department. So figuring out this whole new system, how things work, all these things. The clinician talks to him and says, you know, here are your options of where to go from this intake unit. We have a mental health unit that you can go to.