Forced Psychiatric Care - My Short Story

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Forced Psychiatric Care - My Story

I have never really spoken up about this until the past few weeks. Mostly my fear was that I myself would just be deemed crazy. I figure it was just something I had to accept, It was just the way it is.

When trying to live independently once far away from reliable assistance from family, there was a day I needed some help. My apartment because of certain circumstances relating to the air conditioner breaking and leaking all over was not fit for staying in. So I called a case worker at a program down the street and she was to arrange for a team to come out and help me figure it out.

I waited there and they never came, so they made me go into an ambulance with pressure from security guards at the county programs building. I was taken into the emergency room and through the back thinking it was my choice. I was placed into a cell but the door was open, I was told I could not leave.

As I was processed through this and put into something called the PAC-Unit in Fresno County California it was without choice. I had just needed somewhere to stay because of my apartment. Yet instead not given a choice and essentially kidnapped and tricked into a facility without my knowledge. I personally thought at the time that I was just being put there until placed, to be helped and not captured against my will.


As I went through this system there was one individual who came in at the same time frame, a developmentally disabled Hispanic. He did not seem to speak but later I did ask his favorite color, which was black. He from my overhearing of a nurse in the hospitals placement from the emergency room had rolled in grass and was very itchy.

HE and I though not interacting by this time were put into the PAC-Unit at near the same time frame. HE seemed to be itching allot, so I went up to the nurses counter at the PAC-UNIT and asked them to attend to him. Which they did shortly after my request with skin ointment.

As time progressed another individual came into this waiting room area that was within the PAC-UNIT. He seemed ruffed up, like he had been into a fight. HE did interact with me and said that he was from a group home or something like that, he was young. He according to him, unless he was delusional had fought with the police. He did not seem stable, yet requested that I get the nurses to give him his seizure medication.

According to him the policy beat him up, he was a criminal. Yet he was so young and scrawny I'm not sure that he could have put up much of a fight.

I did request the nurses to give him his medications and they seemed agreeable, as I don't recall the conversation. I felt I was helping but as time passed and the medications did not come, he requested that I due to his injury ask again. So I did and I could have asked 3 times total reflect upon this memory. One time the medication was on the counter and they just had not brought it to him.

He ended up having a grand-mal seizure. It was a frightening thing to witness, I did not know what to do. I went to go get the nurses and allot of activity happened, I stayed in the hall way. Medical personnel from the hospital came by with a stretcher and took him away to be treated.

An employee was walking by after this happened, I felt fairly uncertain of the quality of care and asserted by informing a random employee and requesting his card. I complained to him and felt there was neglect.

After this I tried calling my Aunt to inform my family of where I was at. This was so no one would worry and that so she could call my mom. I was ready to move out of that town because I could not take care of myself properly, like getting to the doctors and the grocery store often enough.

As I was in the hall way in the phone booth indent in the wall with chair and after all this had past something happened.

A doctor with a security guard approached me, she had medicine. She asked me to take it, I started asking about it and was uncertain. I was threatened by the doctor with the security guard there. I was told in so many words and they are not exact, that if I did not take the medicine I would be given a shot and confined.

I asked for an attorney
I asked for an advocate
I asked for a second opinion
I said "no".

My rights were taken away,
My choice removed,
My freedom taken,
But I am an American and my dad served to protect my freedoms.

I was respectful, I was not disordered and felt I was just staying there until my apartment was ready.

3 days later as the doctors wanted to keep me there I was released. I called in an advocate that joined me at the hearing when the judge denied the doctors requests to keep me there. I felt I had been entirely well and my apartment was ready for me.

I have a form of autism, I'm not mentally ill. I just have some problems with independent living and should have stayed at a hotel.

An attorney is helping me with a complaint against Fresno County Government.

China does these types of things to it's people, American should not.

Chinese Human Rights Defender Hu Jia Facing Forced Psychiatric Treatment, June 2004
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/news/1263

Nathan Young

Oh my goodness. That's unbelievable. Sounds like you need a different social worker at the very least. What kind of person would do that to someone? Forcing you to take medication? Did you even know what it was? I'm sure you hadn't shown any signs of being beligerent. And they wouldn't even give medication to an epileptic? Why would they treat you and all these other people like criminals? What a mess. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I don't live in California, but maybe you can get a petition or something going.

I'm glad to hear they finally let you go. You were kidnapped by the county.

-Ann-

SC contact this fella he'll be interested to hear from you and your story

[email protected]

I should never have been treated this way. I am an american citizin not a terrorist in abu.

This is a joke and thinking about ideas.

I would create an audio stream of my public testimony and do the following:

Create a locality based and hyper percision keyword relevency targeting accross advertising networks on search engines.

But I might be called anti-social schezo manic and suffering delusions of being free in America, laugh.

sc, there are several holes in your story. How did you go from having a problem with your AC to getting in an ambulance?? Did you contact your landlord and arrange for a hotel room? (It's you legal right in Cali BTW) Why did you contact mental health services?? What were you hoping they would do??

The story is just an over-view.

I noticed how you took our little "tiff" in another post to come here with my more sensitive post and try to say there were holes in it. Obvious bucko, but Christians were the ones that took me to the doctors once in fresno when I could not find anyone else to, they are always helpful, so either your with me in the other post or not. Enough with it, its quite pathetic of a few of you.

"sc, there are several holes in your story. How did you go from having a problem with your AC to getting in an ambulance?? Did you contact your landlord and arrange for a hotel room? (It's you legal right in Cali BTW) Why did you contact mental health services?? What were you hoping they would do??"

Very hot day in central California, the air conditioning broke and the humidity went way up, one pc was destroyed and it was cooler outside then inside.

I called a county case worker "cannot provide any other discriminate details" whom had worked with me over a year in a program. She was to arrange a team to come out "cannot name it specifically" which was to full of requests, its a team that comes out and helps disabled folks. IT was near the end of the work day and they called for an ambulance, a most ridiculous step and had security guards pressure me into it without choice.

The landlord was not willing to help and said it would take days, she refused to look at the apartment as it was leaking form the ceilings.

I was hoping that they would assist me with figuring out what to do. I already had a social worker, whom never was really helpful, in exception for a few times. I trusted the department down the street more then the social worker because he simply did not care or was very inattentive to me. I was in the wrong department anyways, never was I placed correctly in Fresno with the proper case workers.

According to my criminology book on hot days mental illness goes up, so that is why they were likely not-responsive, the disability response team was busy theoretically becuase of the hot day. I was encouraged to go down to that department, but there very rash decision at the end of there work day was the cost of an ambulance without my choice and my witnessing:

1. Neglect of a person with a known seizure disorder, putting him in medical harms way and proving this by him having the grand-mal seizure resulting in clear damage. I was not forced medicated until after I launched a verbal complaint in a strict manner of presentation for the advocacies of the quality of care there.

2. Possible police abuse of this same young individual whom was physically medically harmed by what he referred to as police.
3. Abuse of a developmentally disabled person by punishing him with solitary confinement, which is highly excessive.

4. Force drugging me despite my being calm, non-confrontational, respectful, orderly, rational, not delusional and under the presumption I was being put through this because that was the only option. It was just the process I had to go through until my apartment was ready despite my rights being taken away. Force drugging me was excessive and treatment by convenience.

The positives of the experience were that I got to witness things to speak out about. The food was also very good and cooked well.

Now as a duty of any patriotic American is to eat well and stand up for my rights!

It has been over 2-years, also there were 2 events that took place that were shocking.

1. The ridiculous not needed ambulance and the security guards pressuring me into it. It was shocking.

2. The doctor and a security guard threatening me. It was very shocking and just frightening.

Getting the events in great detail will not be made available on my site for at least a month. I've decided to take a break from it for a week because of all of the thinking of it. Some people might think it is just medication, they like medication feelings. To me I am not like that.

I have to write in greater detail.

Something had triggered many of these memories on this forum a few weeks ago. Then it all started coming back but I have an attorney now whom actually does somewhat specialize in mental health law for those with developmental disabilities. So I feel comfortable now that something will be done and what I experienced will be rectified, even if just an apology from the County of Fresno. It would mean allot to me..

I feel ever so confident that achieving success in this complaint given the circumstances and the law as well as my history.

Huh?? What "tiff"??

I simply pointed out that your story was incomplete and therefore it's difficult to figure out what really happened. If you don't fill in the gaps, it's hard to tell if you're deliberately leaving certian details out. Your approach to sovling you AC problem does'nt seem logical. Things obviosly took a turn for the worse. With an incomplete story how is anyone supposed to tell where things went wrong??

The basic discription was there and clearly.

I called the case worker down the street and she incuraged me to come down to the county programs buildign office. Usually I attended there often, sometimes 3-4 times a month. A regular social contact, they were unable to place me anywhere so I just talked to the case worker whom was unliscensed and could not pass the psych test, like an internship person. It was not for counciling or anything like that though....

"case worker" really the title is similar yet to define it, I don't want to give out to many details as the location might be given away. That is to say no details of the official title or the position.


I was placed there by a social worker but had been placed in the wrong social worker department. Also they had no knowledge of what H.F.A/A.S was. Not even the psychitrist, they are lacking understanding extrodinarly.

No matter what though, I could have simply waited outside of my aunts place 1/2 mile away (she was just not home but always does reside there), hotels down the street and what not. The team I was told by a social worker about, the inattentive one. Paying for a hotel would not have been easy for the availibility of funds the remainder of the month, likely if the case worker at the program down the street had just told me they can't help I would have gone to my aunts and waited outside even until night.

I did not go to my aunts originaly as I did not want to bug her and she was not home, more so it was the last resort.

The apartment could not have been stayed in, it was leaking from the ceeling and it was VERY hot inside.

One computer had been fried, never did it work after that day. So that gives you an idea of the humidity and heat present.

At no time did the City of or county of Fresno have the right to do what they did. It was uncalled for.

In this town I know no one aside from one person by luck, in any town I go I know hardly anyone. I do know family, that's usually about it.

There are regular persons who drive, have a social network of friends and support and carry on in life with little assistence. I require at least some, so that is the difference.

Glad to see there is no longer a tiff..... A tiff is an argument or disagreement.

In addition to this, I did try to talk to the apartment manager prior to trying to get to meet with the response team that works with people with disabilities I was qualified for. She refused to call an emergency repair and when she finaly had someone get to it after family talked to her, she was suprised. Evidently people simply do not understand clearly spoken words of urgency.

It was becuase of the refusal of immidate repair that I was having trouble originaly. IF it happened to her place I am sure she would have had someone right on over.

Edit:

The case worker at the place down the street was the person that was calling the team to come out and meet at the county building..

They never came..They were to busy.. I did get to talk to them on the phone though, but it was the end of the day. No sort of arrangement was made for them to meet me at the apartment, which should have been originaly done. My hope was to have them talk to the manager.

The manager would have listened to social workers.

The problem is I think people either dont comprehend me sometimes or not, I seem to speak clearly. The manager simply did not arrange for any sort of solution dispite the problem!

The ceeling leaking could cuase damage itself if not repaired properly. The water with the semingly 100+ temp outside was to much humidity. That town gets hot, but I don't mind heat with a fan blowing. The humidity, the total discomfort and electrical equipment going out such as the PC made it bad. I had to unplug most everything.

There was a hotel down the street that had a restraunt in it. If I did not ask the county for help in the spur of the moment becuase my aunt was not availible none of this would have happened. IF my aunt was home, if anything having her call would have made things happen, that lady when determined to argue can make things happen.

I am very self-pridefull of asking anyone for help.

That apartment was a pit of hell that day. Water getting on the carpet and a computer distroyed. The county folks took me, that poor cat of mine if family was not allowed in would have had no food for 3 days.

Technically they indangered my cat I think they over-responded and wanted to get rid of me before they went home from there tax payer funded employment. Also the redicilious ambulance was paid for by tax-payers, I would have rather put a chair outside and waited until night when the apartment was cooler then the outside.

IT all seems redicilious but what happened after I was "taken" is entirely unexceptable.

I would have been free if those security guards gave me an option.

All of a sudden security guards and an ambulance person were there. How crazy.

Here's my take so far. You had a problem with your A.C. , the landlord and manager did'nt take proper care of the situation. AT this point, I dont think you realised how much the law was on your side. In California, the law is stacked heavily in favor of renters. You could've gone to the Hotel and stayed there untill the A.C. got fixed, and charged you landlord for the hotel room. If your landlord did'nt pay the hotel bill, you could've deducted the bill from your rent. (Totaly LEGAL) If your landlord gave you an eviction notice at that point, that's called a "retaliatory eviction" and that's ILLEAGAL for your landlord to do.
Your case worker should've either told you this or refered you to some kind of legal counsel. I agree that what hapened later was totaly inexcuseable. You had a legal problem, not a mental health one.

I might send a letter to the management company asking for compensation, yet they would likely decline. I moved shortly after like a few weeks and they took most of the deposit. The manager said they cannot be held liable for the computer.

It was worth over $700 at the time.

I've decided to make a revised version in a book like format online. With as much detail as possible with as much thought process going through my mind as possible at the time.

Somehow, I am not surprised. I've had my own run-ins with such people.

Some questions:

1) do you have an idea as to why they would wish to 'drug' you?

2) did you have the impression that they wished to do something nasty, almost as if they had an overwhelming hatred - as if your presence provided a focal point for something that was ordinarily more difused?

3) Did you feel as if you were being punished for being 'bad'?

Reading your accounting brought back some of my more unpleasant memories. I hope you can find someone that understands and will actually help you - not seek to cause trouble, or take advantage.

D. Y.

1) do you have an idea as to why they would wish to 'drug' you?

"Suddenly a security guard and doctor I had never seen before approached me. I asked why, they said for my anxiety, I said I didn’t have any anxiety. After the threats, after I said I did not need the medication and said no, in fact I said no thank you, thanks for the concern, not exact words, if anything they were creating it. All they needed to do is have one doctor come to me and see if I needed medication, maybe asked me how I felt after the guy had a massive grand-mal seizure I was trying to advocate to get his medicine for. Instead I was threatened and forced drugged likely for experiencing witnessing that. So maybe the false symptoms of anxiety had to do with a presumption of convenience to treat symptoms from being a witness and assuming I had anxiety. Yes, sure it was startling, I said I would file a complaint and felt it was bad care. Maybe they were mad at me, they didnt want to lose there job. I could have told the judge."

"The medication was ridiculous, it made me sit on the floor and feel floaty, someone but it is hard to remember had to take me away from the hall and into a room with beds. "

2) did you have the impression that they wished to do something nasty, almost as if they had an overwhelming hatred - as if your presence provided a focal point for something that was ordinarily more difused?

"No, no such conspiracy, I ponder if it had to do with me complaining about the neglect of care with the guy that had a massive dangerous seizure making him have to be taken to the hospital next door. I asked for his meds to be given to him, he was injured from police brutality either warranted or not."

3) Did you feel as if you were being punished for being 'bad'?

"No, I'm not bad, I am perfectly respectful and non-confrontational. I keep to myself and had thought I was helping people that evening."