Post by trueblue on Aug 10, 2022 3:45:11 GMT
I remember how my heart pounded as I drove cross-country to Los Angeles in the fall of 2019. I was anxious about whether I could start again and leave behind a string of traumas, including a forced hospitalization in New York.
The violations that I saw in that hospital plague the behavioral health system. My ward held mostly unhoused people. After a drive-through-style clinical assessment that lasted only 20 minutes, the staff pressured me to accept injections of a powerful anti-psychotic drug, without fully informing me of alternatives and side effects.
I also did not feel safe to ask questions, for fear of being labeled uncooperative, service resistant, or impaired in my ability to make decisions. There is no informed-consent process within these jail-like state-run institutions.
The violations that I saw in that hospital plague the behavioral health system. My ward held mostly unhoused people. After a drive-through-style clinical assessment that lasted only 20 minutes, the staff pressured me to accept injections of a powerful anti-psychotic drug, without fully informing me of alternatives and side effects.
I also did not feel safe to ask questions, for fear of being labeled uncooperative, service resistant, or impaired in my ability to make decisions. There is no informed-consent process within these jail-like state-run institutions.
When I moved to LA, I became involved in peer-support efforts for the unhoused community living in Echo Park Lake. After my own living situation became abusive and unsafe, I became a resident of the park. Like all communities, ours was not perfect, but we took care of our own and lived with a sense of belonging, not shame.