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[Sarah K]

I just want to give some insight on my personal experiences from working within a Community Habilitation for Mental Health.

It's fucked up.

I mean, it was the first and only job that I've enjoyed, because I loved seeing the progress that individuals made. Sometimes that progress could be seen daily, other times it took forever.

First of all, the pay is shit. I was hired at $9.00 an hour. I had some basic psychology classes completed at this point, and that was way more than the majority of my coworkers. When I got promoted to be a supervisor, I was making $10.27 an hour. Due to my organization trying to grow too rapidly, I was working AT MINIMUM, 80 hours a week. We didn't have enough staff for the homes that we already had, but the organization only cared about growth. Working 80 hour weeks here and there can be okay. But when you're doing 80, 90, and 100 hour weeks for months and months, it is draining. I would go months without a day off. Basically, they only care about a body being there, due to most of our individuals being under state mandated 24/7 care. They don't give two fucks if you're actually mentally there... You know, actually able to provide assistance for the individuals in care.

So, what you end up with is a bunch of late teen to early twenties kids hired into these jobs with NO training and NO understanding of what they're getting themselves into. They come into this job basically thinking that they're "babysitting" and can sit around and fuck off on their phones all day, not realizing that PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE AT RISK. Like I said, I had basic classes under my belt, so I had a little bit of understanding. However, there is absolutely nothing that can actually prepare you for getting into this line of work. I filled out my paperwork, and was left on my own the very first night, without knowing what in the fuck I was supposed to be doing.

This leads into the paperwork side of it. Again - no training. If you submit paperwork at the end of the month with ANY ERRORS, the state will be like LOL NOT PAYING... And you lose out on that person's funding for the day.

I once saw one of my clients get Tasered by the fucking cops AS I WAS CHECING HIM IN FOR A PSYCH EVAL DUE TO SUICIDAL ACTIONS.

I saw clients be mistreated by their doctors.

I saw clients be put on and pulled off of psychotropic medications on a daily basis.

I saw clients wait to get ANYTHING from their families - a phone call, a fucking card, SOMETHING. And generally, those things never come. So, when you go into this line of work for the correct reasons, you become their families. I still call and write a lot of them, because you form bonds with them that are very special. You see them at their worst. You see them at their best.

It is a dangerous job. I cannot count how many times I got punched, hit, kicked, had items thrown at me, etc. A lot of times, the first time someone gets hit, they quit with no notice.

There is also an issue of the state trying to force people into this level of care when in reality, they DO need to be in a facility. That might sound shitty and cold, but it is the truth. I had one girl who beat the shit out of me on the daily. Would break windows and then chase me down with the glass when she wasn't cutting herself.

We had a worker who ended up in the hospital for a LONG TIME because a client took down the rod in the closet and beat her with it over and over.

I hate it when people who are mostly functional with disorder say shit like "Well, I'VE never done that". Well, sure. But every disorder lies within a spectrum. Just be thankful that yours wasn't as bad, and you're able to be integrated into society. Being dismissive of disorders as a cause for concern is shitty. I believe that there is a mental health care crisis in this fucking country. We need to stop acting like it is some made up thing, and actually address it.

TL;DR - there are programs for people with mental health disorders. But the employees of these programs are paid nothing, and receive no training. Often times, they do more harm than good.

[allegro]

TL;DR - there are programs for people with mental health disorders. But the employees of these programs are paid nothing, and receive no training. Often times, they do more harm than good.

Thanks, Sarah, that was a great post. And there are programs but not NEARLY enough of them and, like you said, they're not staffed properly and they're horribly underfunded and most people only end up doing 72 hours in a psych unit (see my above link) but jail ends up being the most common "mental health facility."

[DigitalChaos]

Thanks, Sarah, that was a great post. And there are programs but not NEARLY enough of them and, like you said, they're not staffed properly and they're horribly underfunded and most people only end up doing 72 hours in a psych unit (see my above link) but jail ends up being the most common "mental health facility."

Which lands them in the hands of another under paid and under respected job: the public defender. It's kind of screwed up how neglected such a foundation to our legal system is.

[allegro]

Which lands them in the hands of another under paid and under respected job: the public defender. It's kind of screwed up how neglected such a foundation to our legal system is.

Nursing homes. Prisoners get better treatment. Except nursing homes cost $4000 per month.