LINCOLN, Neb. (COLOGNE) – Between his full-time job as a truck driver, running a nonprofit for at-risk youth, and raising his own family, Clay Anders takes care of his mental health. He assumed the role of caretaker and advocate for his younger brother who had an illness. health needs.
“That's not possible,” Anders said. “He's having a hard time, so you have to be there for him every day.”
According to the documents, Anders' younger brother, whose identity has not been revealed for privacy reasons, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Clay said his brother struggles to take care of himself and sometimes exhibits behaviors that could be considered dangerous when not taking his medication.
Clay said his brother ended up in the criminal justice system after repeated attempts to seek help from police were unsuccessful.
“A few days later I got a call from the county attorney saying he had some good news. He's now in the county on terrorist threat charges,” Anders said. “In my opinion, that's not good news. That's one of the worst things that could happen and that's what I was trying to avoid from the beginning, because he doesn't get the essential resources that he needs there. Because I can't.”
That was a few months ago, when I first spoke to Anders on October 11th. Since then, his brother has been accepted into a treatment program, only to be kicked out again. He says this cycle is frustrating.
“It's just a broken system that's not working,” Anders said.
Unfortunately, Anders' situation with his brother is not unique. Kristin Nelson, emergency services director for Region V Systems, which distributes state grants, said she hears all the time from families whose adult loved ones are struggling.
“Every day, every day. It's so sad because they're stuck,” Nelson said.
Although there are many agencies in the community that provide assistance to the majority of people in need, victims of 10/11 said they cannot help them all. More than 30 interviews with people on the 10/11 front lines show that because too many people in need are currently locked up in prisons, states are resources, more money, more people, and more options.
“Our state prison system has become the largest psychiatric facility in the United States. And that is not the way things should be,” said Omaha State Sen. John Frederickson.
Department of Corrections Inspector General Doug Kaebernick said our nation's prisons have a high number of inmates with mental health needs.
“A lot of people think that if we had a facility for treatment, we would see this positive change,” Kabernick said. “But the Department of Corrections and their mental health teams are trying to help someone, and it's a very different environment. It's not a therapeutic treatment environment.”
The Nebraska Probation Office is working to provide mental health resources to people before and after sentencing, said Deb Minardi, the state's probation officer.
“They're not necessarily being arrested for criminal activity, just as their criminal behavior is due to mental health or mental health instability,” Minardi said.
Kari Rumbaugh, assistant deputy chief of juvenile probation, said providing people with these resources is key to public safety.
“What we've learned is that you can't ignore mental health,” Rambo said.
However, once an individual is incarcerated, resources are limited. The Nebraska Department of Corrections declined to be interviewed, but said all inmates are screened for behavioral health needs and in severe cases, monthly treatment and medication can be provided.
Anders said he wants things to be better for his brother.
“Yeah, we could give him medication there and we have a case worker, but then what good is that if everyone goes home and he’s mentally ill and put in solitary confinement? “Is that so?” Anders said. “It's actually hurting him more and it shouldn't be.”
Watch the documentary on suffering in silence
This topic is discussed in detail in the full Suffering in Silence documentary, which you can watch in the video player above. 10/11 News YouTube pageor on the 10/11 NOW app on the following streaming platforms: Roku, AppleTV, FireTV, AndroidTV.
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