[broahmed]

While calling mental health facilities to get advice on a similarly mentally ill individual (homeless for probably decades, delusional speech, probably paranoid schizophrenic, afraid of authorities and equally resistant to treatment...no drugs or alcohol though, so that was nice) two of the people I spoke to said the only way they could reasonably see the person getting help was if I called 911 or the police and told them I was worried they were a threat to themselves. That was the only way to get them forcibly treated. One of them said this based on her own experience in trying to get help for a family member. So I did.

Depending on your city/state, they may send out a mental health specialist. Mine didn't have any available so the police called me and gathered the required information. It was the middle of winter and this individual steadfastly refused to go to a homeless shelter and had a respiratory illness, so it was easy to make the case he was endangering his life. The officer was friendly and explained that if they did find the person to indeed be a threat to themselves, they would be taken to a mental health facility if beds were available. In this person's case, turned out he had a warrant out for his arrest. Part of me felt bad that he went to jail, but the other part was relieved that he was out of the cold. Unfortunately, he fell through the cracks and doesn't seem to have been given mental health treatment during his time there.

Fast forward a few months and I got a call from him. He had made his way to some city in Arizona. He went to a hospital there for some unrelated illness; they quickly realized he was mentally ill and after an evaluation committed him against his will. I hope he gets better.