Mentally Ill Stuck in a Catch-22
By Dr. Kevin McNamee March 7, 2019
Thousand Oaks Police Chief Tim Hagel estimates 90 percent of his officer’s calls concerning the homeless stem from those with mental health and/or drug addiction issues.
Part of the problem, I believe, is a MediCal Catch-22 that I heard a mental health expert talk about. MediCal provides free counseling and medication for the homeless. Once the person is stable, they enter the work force and transitional housing, eventually moving into their own housing. But to
qualify for MediCal services, a person can have no more than a dollar maximum in the bank.
So, if a mentally ill person is benefiting from these services and gets housing and a job, as soon as they accrue more than the dollar maximum in the bank, they lose free counseling and medication. The patient cannot afford the medication and counseling services and becomes unstable, loses their job and housing and are back on the street. Now they’re eligible for the counseling and medication that will get them stable. The cycle continues.
The current maximum in the bank rule to qualify for MediCal needs to be adjusted upward to today’s cost of living. Most homeless don’t want to seek services at outpatient mental health facilities because of transportation issues and fear of losing their shopping cart full of “stuff” when inside.
The expert suggested that mental health services go to the homeless. See them in the field.
Currently, Thousand Oaks Police Department has two mental health professionals who ride along to calls concerning mental health. I asked at a recent meeting, “Why not combine services of a mental health professional, riding with and protected by the police, and go see the homeless to provide their medication in the field? Can the city support such a service?”
A city official said it’s the county’s responsibility, not the city.
I say we need to find a way to support an “in-field” therapist to provide the needed medications to the homeless unwilling to come into the outpatient facilities.
At the very least, the homeless becomes less disruptive and stop consuming valuable police resources. The best outcome is they become purposeful and enter society again—permanently.
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