Mentally ill brother now homeless - any advice?

richdeniro

Just to give some background; throughout the last 10-15 years my brother has been suffering from mental illness in the form of paranoid delusions. He has been sectioned twice after attacking my parents and over the past few years has been shifted around various sheltered accommodation in Croydon. My parents have done most of the work in terms of dealing with social services and the council to ensure that he had a roof over his head and received the appropriate support but it has never been easy for them especially as they are now elderly. I am sure that if it were not for them he would would have been homeless or worse a long time ago. He has been on antipsychotic medication for the best part of the last 15 years.

However today he was removed from his sheltered accommodation which he was placed in by Croydon Council. Apparently he was removed due to 'anti-social behaviour' which does not surprise us as he is mentally ill. The porter at the hotel said he would be loud late at night and was generally a mess - again this doesn't surprise me because he cannot look after himself despite his care coordinators best effort to try and get him to do so. We have known for years he was incapable of looking after himself but I guess it is down to social services and I appreciate the strain that they are already under. We even told social services that he would not last in the hotel due to his illness and needed to be looked after.

Anyway we have called the council and they haven't been helpful at all and have completely washed their hands of him it appears. My father has looked through the paperwork they gave us when he was placed there and it states that if he is evicted due to anti-social behaviour then they have no obligation to find him anything alternative and essentially the onus is on him to find himself somewhere to live. This is something he is completely incapable of doing, he can barely read or write, let alone navigate his way around websites and council departments to find out what he would need to do - As I mentioned over the past few years everything has been done by my parents and I'm sure if it wasn't for them he would have been homeless or worse long ago.

We have also spoken to his care coordinator and social services team but they don't seem to want to know either. He has tested positive for Cannabis which is why social services have given up with him but as I said previously he is not capable of looking after himself and does not know what is best for himself. Another part of his mental illness is that he is extremely self-destructive and the problem is that drug dealers know vulnerable people have benefit money and so target them to sell drugs to, I've seen them waiting around in order to target people with mental health issues as soon as they get back from collecting their benefits. It sickens me to my stomach.

​I was just wondering if anyone would have any advice for getting him a roof over his head? My mum is in such a state because despite coming to terms with his illness she has always worried about him and I know it keeps her mind relatively at rest knowing that at least he isn't on the streets. I know you might be thinking why my parents can't just take him back in. He kind of blames my parents for his life and doesn't believe he is mentally ill and has attacked them before in the past so it is a non-starter and they are both retired/elderly and cannot afford to put him into a hotel themselves.

I also worry that becoming homeless he will no longer take his antipsychotic medication and will do something stupid to himself or someone else. As I mentioned he is vulnerable and extremely self-destructive which is why we have always said he needs someone to look after him but there does not seem to be any support for people like that.

Thanks in advance.

Savvy_Sue

MIND? SANE?

Awful situation.

Ames

Shelter are a housing charity, it might be worth giving them a call.

chesky

Surely this is the very situation that sectioning addresses.

ljonski

In situations like this, the last port of call will be the police and prison service after someone with MH issues has been driven to commit some sort of crime. There really isn't any kind of secure MH institution that someone in this situation would be best suited for. A neighbour of mine is in a similar situation and on the edge of eviction. She has no family who maintain any contact with her and if she is evicted, i can only see homelessness, crime,drug abuse and an early death. keep on at Social services and pester them for help and information on Supported housing complexes run by Housing Associations or Charities.
https://www.sanctuary-supported-living.co.uk/mental-health

ljonski

Sectioning is only a temporary respite where the brother needs long term supported care.

Sicard

I used to work at a senior level at a mental health drop-in centre and residential homes. I key-worked several service users (as they're called) and if my shifts demanded it I would take them to their psychiatrists for an annual checkup. Each person would have a 'care plan' in place to see if all their needs were adequately dealt with. As staff we would administer their medication as and when required and make sure they were generally looked after. Some clients would require a CNP (community psychiatric nurse) to visit the home and administer an anti-psychotic injection to those with more severe needs.

Most of the clients were classified as paranoid schizophrenics and the severity of their conditions varied. Rarely did anyone experience a psychotic episode and if it did it was deal with adequately by a staff member. Some clients were classed as able to self medicate and their behaviour was stable unless they failed to take their medication in which case their mental state would decline and they'd end up in hospital.

We also dealt with the mental health team at the Social Services, which consisted of CNP, social workers and psychiatrists and the system demanded close liason with all professionals. It sounds as though the system has failed your brother for some reason because if he's been taking his medication his behaviour should be relatively stable.

All I can suggest is to contact your MP. Another avenue to explore is the mental health charity MIND and Together, my old employer http://www.together-uk.org/about-us/our-history/

Good luck.

Feral_Moon

chesky wrote: »

Surely this is the very situation that sectioning addresses.

It might be possible were there any beds available in MH hospitals but they are few and far between now due to severe government cutbacks in recent years.

richdeniro

He turned up on the doorstep last night in quite a state, shouting at my parents, etc so we called the police but they didn't deem him unwell enough to be sectioned so just released him and as far as we know he slept in a shop doorway.

elsien

I have had a similar situation trying to help someone who could not live in hostel accommodation due to PTSD and antisocial behaviour.
I followed up with Shelter and was told the council were within their rights to refuse to rehouse. Sheltered / supported accommodation refused to take him saying because if his drug and alcohol use and antisocial behaviour they could not meet his needs and had a duty to protect other residents. Unfortunately this person did end up homeless.

it's a huge gap in the system because all the shared accommodation set ups or private landlords aren't going to want to deal with that level of behaviour. Having said that though, at some point, even with MH problems, people do have to take some level of responsibility for any support to be able to be effective.

If you have concerns about the risk, then contact his CPN. Has he ever been on a S3, as there should be some level of duty there for accommodation and aftercare if it is directly related to his mental health. However if his behaviour is deemed to be due to other factors other than his mental health (which is possible) that's when he's more likely to fall through the gaps. Try Shelter anyway, as there may be a way to challenge the council's decision.

Are there organisations such as the Cyrenians in your area who may be able to help?

helcat26

Could you not just take him in to your home or your parents home until you find somewhere?