Jessica Ferguson : Brother in Crisis: A Family's Desperate Fight for Mental Health Support
Episode description
Jessica Ferguson shares the deeply personal story of her brother's struggle with serious mental illness and how systemic failures led to his incarceration after being accused of a triple homicide when he should have been in psychiatric care.
• Her brother had been stable with his mental illness for a decade before showing concerning behavior changes in early 2023
• Despite three psychiatric hospitalizations within months, he was repeatedly discharged after 72-hour holds with no substantial care plan
• Family pleas for help were ignored as healthcare providers cited voluntary treatment requirements and HIPAA restrictions
• Only after being accused of a crime did he receive consistent psychiatric care
• The jail system provides minimal mental health support compared to psychiatric hospitals
• Families need healthcare proxy arrangements and better knowledge of resources before crises occur
• Massachusetts lacks Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) options that could mandate treatment
• Mental health systems must partner with families who know their loved ones best
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intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
Why Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)