A journey through a failed system, and how to fix it
A call for systemic change in mental health crisis response, psychiatric care, and housing stability to prevent tragedy and preserve human dignity.
I write to you today because I believe my story could change lives.
During one transfer between hospitals, I was fully shackled — wrists and ankles. I remember thinking, "I feel like a horror movie villain." That moment did not build trust in mental health care. It broke it.
If someone is in a psychiatric crisis but is not violent, why are we defaulting to law enforcement transport models?
We need policy reform that mandates non-law-enforcement crisis transport teams — trained mental health responders using discreet vehicles that preserve dignity and avoid humiliation, with no handcuffs unless there is a clear danger. Crisis response should reduce trauma, not add to it.
One of my psychiatric admissions led directly to homelessness. After discharge, I had nowhere to go. I was dropped off at a shelter in Manchester. I saw open drug use while waiting for a bed. I was told there was a 24-hour waitlist.
This is what happens when mental health discharge planning is not tied to housing stability.
We cannot continue discharging psychiatric patients into homelessness and expect recovery.
Housing must be integrated into behavioral health policy.
Which brings me to solutions.
First, we need crisis response reform. Dedicated mental health rapid-response teams should operate separately from police. No flashing lights. No shackles for compliant patients. Trauma-informed transport protocols should be written into law.
Second, we need psychiatric environments designed for healing. Research consistently shows that environment affects behavior. Instead of sterile, tense wards that escalate agitation, we should create calm spaces that resemble healing environments, incorporating elements such as yoga studios, animal-assisted therapy, nutritional support, and integrative therapies alongside medication management.
Third, we need innovative housing solutions tied directly to recovery.
I propose partnering with vocational-technical high schools to build tiny homes as part of construction training programs. These homes could create structured recovery communities funded through state grants, workforce development funds, and housing initiatives.
Residents would receive:
- On-site social workers
- Access to medication-assisted treatment, such as methadone and Suboxone
- Mental health counseling
- Job training and community reintegration pathways
- Tiered privilege systems that reward stability and progress
I do not see this as charity. I see it as an investment. It reduces emergency room visits, incarceration costs, and repeat hospitalizations.
Most of the homeless individuals I met were not lazy. They were mentally ill, traumatized, addicted, or all three. And yet, when I was sleeping outside, the very people society ignores gave me cardboard and a tarp so I would not have to sleep on concrete.
They had compassion. Our systems should too.
I stand here today because I chose to fight for my life. I use resources like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. I ask for help when I need it.
But survival should not require near-death experiences.
And I should not have had to nearly die five times to finally receive stable support.
We cannot keep saying, "Mental health matters," while funding crisis-only interventions and ignoring housing, transport reform, and post-discharge stability.
If we want fewer funerals, fewer overdoses, and fewer suicide notes, we must build systems that intervene earlier, respond humanely, and stabilize people for the long term.
No more slipping through the cracks.
Not on my watch.
Thank you.
