2007 News - Page 1

2007 News - Page 3

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After 20 years of homelessness, "in a fog of mental illness, alcohol and drugs," 48-year-old Larry Eskridge has an apartment of his own.

An editorial in The Plain Dealer of Sunday, 27 May 2007 describes how new housing, and MHS supportive services helped Mr. Eskridge and others obtain and maintain housing after years of life on the streets. Mr. Eskridge lives in Emerald Commons, a 52-unit permenant housing community for which MHS provides comprehensive supportive services."

Reference

Frolik, J. (2007, May 27). Editorial: A home of their own. Housing First keeping homeless off streets with permanent places to live and professional support services. Cleveland, OH: The Plain Dealer, p. B8. Retrieve the article from Cleveland.com. (Articles are available without charge for a limited time.)

Assaults on homeless people throughout the U.S.A. have increased 65% from 2005-2006, according to data gathered by the National Coalition for the Homeless, and reported in The Plain Dealer on 25 May 2007.

Michael Stoops, acting NCH Executive Director, adds that most attacks occur during summer months, and 68% of the assailants are of age 13-19 years, mostly male. He attributes the young age of the assailants to their influence by a growing number of websites that feature homeless people fighting and engaging in risky conduct.

A disturbing increase in local assaults on homeless people (see the report of 23 May 2007, described below), even before summer has begun, has worried leaders of homeless assistance providers in Cuyahoga County. The Plain Dealer article reported that representatives of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless met with police on 24 May to discuss the recent attacks.

Ohio Representative Mike Foley, from Cleveland, is reported to be drafting a bill making attacks on homeless people a hate crime in Ohio, despite the failure this year of similar legislative attempts in California, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and Texas. Representative Foley notes that the recent attacks in Cleveland are "examples of why the bill needs to be passed."

Reference

Suchetka, D. (2007, May 25). Experts fear more attacks on homeless. Cleveland, OH: The Plain Dealer, pp. B1 & B5. Retrieve the article from Cleveland.com. (Articles are available without charge for a limited time.)

At least six homeless people have been assaulted by teenagers and young men in Cleveland during the past three months, according to a story appearing in The Plain Dealer on 23 May 2007.

Brian Davis, Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless characterized the attacks as hate crimes. "We had only two incidents of hate crimes against the homeless that were reported to police in all of Ohio last year," he said. "This is a huge number," he added, referring to the recent series of at least six attacks in three months.

The most serious incident occurred on 11 May 2007 in the Cleveland Flats, when six to nine young men beat a homeless woman with a bat, threatened her with a knife, and broke her collarbone. Minutes later, they beat her husband and stole a dog the homeless couple had been caring for. Eighteen men returned on 15 May, demanding the couple's other dog, and threatening to burn the couple's camp.

Donna Kelly, a nurse who cares for homeless people, asked "Why are our children so angry that they're victimizing other people?"

A similar series of assaults by teenagers on homeless men in Cleveland, Ohio occurred in August 2003, when four teenagers from the Youngstown (Ohio) area were accused of kicking and beating homeless men in downtown Cleveland's Public Square. These teenagers videotaped their own assaults. To read more, click here, then scroll down to see additional summaries of articles published on 9 and 18 September 2003. Also, see this summary of a disturbing story appearing in January 2006.

Reference

Suchetka, D. (2007, May 23). Hate motivates attacks on homeless. Cleveland, OH: The Plain Dealer, pp. B1 & B5. Retrieve the article from Cleveland.com. (Articles are available without charge for a limited time.)

"Less than one-third of the money individuals gave to nonprofits in 2005 went to help the economically disadvantaged, according to a new study commissioned by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google," and reported in The Wall Street Journal.

Only 8% of donated dollars "provide food, shelter or other basic necessities," concluded the report by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "At most, another 23% is directed to the poor," for other purposes, such as medical treatment or education. "It's just not true, in other words, that the major beneficiaries of charity and philanthropy are the disadvantaged," even though most people who give still "believe the bulk of their donations help those less fortunate than themselves."

"The 'charity gap' is even wider among the affluent," the report found. Individual donors who earn more than $1 million per year "give only 4% of their donations for basic needs and an additional 19% to other programs geared toward the poor."   And although "for people with annual incomes below $100,000, religious giving ... [comprises] two-thirds of all donations, ... less than 20 cents of every dollar given to religious organizations funds programs for the economically disadvantaged."

Why is this so? The author, Sheryl Sandberg, suggests that it is "easier to give - and harder to say no - to those in your own community or among your circle of friends. ... The homeless shelter in the inner city offers neither the peer pressure of a familiar face nor the opportunity for one's friends to see one's generosity [emphasis added]." She concludes that "As Americans consider their 1040s this year, they need to ask if there is a disconnect between their desires and their actions. Many will find, perhaps to their surprise, that what they want to do is not, in deed, what they're doing. If so, they should start looking deeper into how their donations benefit those whose economic fortunes are dramatically different from their own."

Most individuals who come to MHS for help have no regular source of income. (Click here to examine data on employment status and income of MHS clients.)   Most homeless individuals served by MHS have significant mental or physical disabilities that substantially interfere with efforts to find and maintain employment as well as housing.   Most children served by MHS are from families with incomes well below the federal poverty guidelines. Donations to MHS help provide food, emergency shelter, and basic health services to some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community. Click here to learn how to help.

Sometime in the late afternoon of Monday, 11 February 2003, 20-year-old Charles Mahoney, Jr. hung himself with his dog's leash in a fraternity house of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Was the college justified in withholding from the parents information about their son's depression and suicidal thoughts in his final, agonizing days? That is the question explored in this page-one article of the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition of 24 March 2007. It is the question at the heart of the wrongful death lawsuit that the parents filed against the officials and therapist of Allegheny College. It is also the type of question that staff members of the MHS Mobile Crisis Team confront every day.

The 18-year-old Mr. Mahoney first experienced feelings of anxiety and panic and episodes of tearfulness, insomnia, and shaking at a football camp at Allegheny College even before the start of his freshman year of studies. The family doctor prescribed an antidepressant and recommended counseling. The parents drove to the school and helped their son set up counseling with the director of the college's counseling center, Jacquelyn Kondrot.

Mr. Mahoney completed his first year of college, and worked for a judge the next summer because of his interest in becoming a lawyer. Yet, when he returned to football camp, he told his counselor he wanted to end his life by taking all his medicine at once, and cutting his wrists. With Mr. Mahoney's permission, the counselor spoke with the parents. He was admitted for five days of inpatient psychiatric care, returned to school, and completed his sophomore year with a 3.85 grade-point average.

Returning to football camp for his junior year, Mr. Mahoney again became despondent. He began his third year of studies, but his counselor soon determined that he was again at high risk for suicide. This time, however, the parents were not notified, because Mr. Mahoney had not signed a waiver of confidentiality that would allow the counselor and the school to disclose information to the parents. Ms Kondrot, the counselor, had consulted with colleagues, and decided that she could not tell the parents about Mr. Mahoney's mental state because his suicidal risk, although significant, was not imminent. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act allows school officials to notify parents of a health or safety emergency, but generally prohibits the disclosure of information gained during the course of psychotherapy unless the person explicitly authorizes its disclosure. She called Mr. Mahoney at his parents' home several times during Christmas break, hoping that these calls might alert his parents that something was not right.

Returning to school in January, Mr. Mahoney's mood and functioning deteriorated further. He kept to himself, began to drink heavily, and made plans to give away Gracie, the beagle he had rescued. He told his counselor that his suicidal thoughts were becoming more frequent, but denied suicidal thoughts on the day he saw her for counseling. He also acknowledged that he sometimes didn't tell her when he wanted to hurt himself. A psychiatrist working with Allegheny College met with Mr. Mahoney, and recommended a change in medicine, admission to inpatient care, and notification of his parents. Mr. Mahoney declined these recommendations. His functioning deteriorated further, and he threatened to kill a fraternity brother who was dating his former girlfriend. One day, several hours after a meeting with his counselor, Charles Mahoney wrote a note that stated he wasn't getting any better, and axphyxiated himself with his dog's leash.

The jury in the wrongful death lawsuit delivered a verdict in favor of Allegheny College and counselor Jacquelyn Kondrot. Only one of the 12 jurors believed that Mr. Mahoney's suicidal statements required the school to violate confidentiality, and notify the parents.

Important issues are explored in this fascinating article. One is the risk of life-threatening conduct during adolescence and young adulthood, a time when many of the most serious mental disorders first become evident. Another is the vexing issue of when to break confidentiality. The disclosure of information about clients of MHS is governed by a complex set of HIPAA Privacy Rules. The application of these rules is subject to considerable debate in complex situations, in which information may be insufficient or of questionable reliability. Every day, program managers at MHS must thoughtfully resolve conflicts between the duty to protect the safety of a client, and the simultaneous duty to protect that client's privacy. Program managers are ever mindful that there are consequences in the manner in which these conflicts are resolved.

References

Bernstein, Elizabeth. (2007, March 24). After a suicide, privacy on trial. A jury weighs whether Chuck Mahoney's college should have told his parents more. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. p. A1. View a preview of the article.

Watch "Suicide Spurs Many Unanswered Questions," a Wall Street Journal video about a 20-year-old Allegheny College student who took his life, and whose parents sued school officials and a college therapist who didn't keep them fully informed of their son's suicidal despair.

Watch "Mental Illness and Young Adults," a Wall Street Journal video interview with Harold Koplewicz, M.D., Director of the Child Study Center at New York University. Dr. Koplewicz talks about changes in the brains of young adults, and their relationship with the onset of many mental illnesses that occur at this time.

A 74-year-old man who shared an Emmy in 1968 for his script-writing for "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" found shelter and support at the MHS Emergency Shelter for Disabled Men. He was interviewed there for a story appearing in The Plain Dealer.   Jack Hanrahan grew up in Cleveland, became a cartoonist and actor, and later "wrote for some of the most popular television shows of the 1960's and 1970's," according to the article.

"I want to help him, but I don't know what to do," said actor and Cleveland-native Jack Riley (the sarcastic Elliot Carlin on "The Bob Newhart Show") in a telephone interview from his home in California with Cleveland reporter Michael O'Malley. "I put him up in a hotel for two weeks and fed him," but he disappeared after two weeks, said Mr. Riley.

Sherrie White, an MHS social worker, will help Mr. Hanrahan find housing, link him with medical services for his heart problems and diabetes, and help him obtain income and health insurance benefits. Just as important, she will support his achievement of the dreams within his grasp.

Ms White and her colleagues at MHS understand just how complex and baffling the problems of homeless people can be. It's their job and their mission to know what to do, and how to start.

The following day, 23 March 2007, another story in The Plain Dealer told how Clevelanders responded with offers to help Mr. Hanrahan, even though he "gets the credit - or the blame - for making Cleveland the nationwide butt of jokes by comedians." One suburban couple even brought pajamas and toiletries to the MHS Emergency Shelter for Mr. Hanrahan.

Efforts by MHS Shelter staff to help Mr. Hanrahan obtain housing and medical care were made more difficult by the fact that he arrived in Cleveland with no identification.   Lack of identification is a common and formidable obstacle to help for many of the homeless persons served by MHS. Luckily for Mr. Hanrahan, his military service documentation was faxed to The Plain Dealer by his friend in California, actor Jack Riley. When the newspaper turned this documentation over to MHS social worker Sherrie White, she was able to check his eligibility for services with the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and then enroll him in services with the V.A. "They'll work with him on placement, medical and psychological issues," she said.

Every day, MHS serves people like Mr. Hanrahan who have no place to turn. Mr. Hanrahan arrived in Cleveland from California in December 2006, with no identification, money, or belongings, "hoping to connect with relatives." A nephew wanted to help, but soon learned that his needs "are too much for his family to handle." An opthalmologist who has known him for 10 years said that Mr. Hanrahan "just doesn't know how to take care of himself."  And Jack Riley, who befriended him in California, said he wanted to help, "but I don't know what to do."  Sherrie White and her colleagues at MHS knew what to do.  Every day, they make the mission of MHS a reality for the people they serve.   It is the mission of MHS to help people gain control of their lives by forging solutions that resolve mental health crises and end homelessness.

References

O'Malley, Michael. (2007, March 22). From a comic career to a tragic life: Emmy-winning writer now homeless in his native Cleveland. Cleveland, OH: The Plain Dealer, pp. A1 & A4. Retrieve the article from Cleveland.com. (Articles are available without charge for a limited time.)

O'Malley, Michael. (2007, March 23). Hometown holds out a hand to help writer. Cleveland, OH: The Plain Dealer, pp. A1 & A12. Retrieve the article from Cleveland.com. (Articles are available without charge for a limited time.)

View the front page of The Plain Dealer featuring the article of 22 March 2007.   This is a PDF, generally available for a week after publication.

For other news and information about MHS, click on the links below.

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