Imagine you respond to a call for service involving an exasperated family dealing with the effects of untreated serious mental illness on their loved one. Perhaps the person experiencing the psychiatric crisis refuses help, but their behavior is concerning and disruptive to the household. The family members do not know how to manage the severe symptoms and are asking for help. Imagine the same circumstances coming in as a call to the Station desk. These work-related scenarios are rather manageable, especially since you can call the LASD Mental Evaluation Team Triage Desk (626-258-3000). However, what if this situation becomes very intimate to you, maybe dealing with your own family member or friend in crisis?

When symptoms of serious mental illness associated with conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders emerge, they are felt not only by the person dealing with the affliction. Family and others around them are also deeply affected. Such mental conditions can be many and are not limited to the specific ones named above. Several important factors become crucial in how the situation is handled.

For example, what are the ethnic and cultural perspectives on mental illness? Some cultures may respond swiftly and handle it in the same manner as if the problem were serious diabetes, immediately seeking professional help. Other families, however, may be hesitant to act due to shame and a desire to hide this embarrassment. Sadly, a delay in getting help can further exacerbate the already troubling mental illness symptoms and may escalate the situation from a psychiatric emergency to a criminal violation because the person in crisis becomes belligerent or violent. Mental health–related stigma can be very powerful and a source of inaction and concealment. Envision a family starting to note serious psychiatric symptoms, which reminds everyone of another family member who previously lived with serious mental illness. If the past experience was particularly bad, the current experience will likely be tainted by the past unresolved family psychological trauma. In some cases, family members assume the psychological disturbance is an effect of drug use. If it is, the passage of time should result in improvement as the drug and its effects clear the system. However, the symptoms can be genuine aspects of severe mental illness, regardless of whether drugs are involved. Another important factor is the available resources. Does the person in question have health insurance and financial resources to get help? Typically, individuals with more resources accessible are more likely to use and benefit from them.

In general, where can a person turn for help? Per the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website (NAMI.org), it is “the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.” Think of NAMI members as the people who have lived through the challenges of the questions posed earlier in this article. They have experienced the difficulties as family members or as individuals with lived experience, which is another way of saying they have personally contended with severe mental illness and are able to share their insights.

NAMI members and law enforcement are closely aligned because these two groups both see the person living with mental illness at their most deteriorated state. If you encounter, in your professional or personal role, individuals seeking help because they do not know what to do about a loved one in need of mental health stability, please refer them to NAMI. Whether the person needing help is at home, living on the streets, in a psychiatric facility, in jail or anywhere else, NAMI members have probably encountered such a situation and can provide guidance and support.

Guess what the cost is? Nothing. NAMI members are primarily volunteers who seek to help others in need, as they were probably in need and helped in the past. They do honorable work and are also very skilled with properly pairing people. For example, if you call and ask for help but have language or other cultural requests, they will likely be met. One of the many astonishing features of NAMI is that it is responsive to culture, race and socioeconomic status because whatever issue you are presenting has probably already been addressed by someone else. Furthermore, as a result of the pandemic crisis, expanded assistance exists for frontline workers and their families. Please visit NAMI.org for more information and to find your local chapter, as there are multiple ones in the Los Angeles region. In addition, you may also contact LASD Psychological Services Bureau at (213) 738-3500.

If you need help, please reach out.