{"id":4929,"date":"2012-08-06T10:33:29","date_gmt":"2012-08-06T18:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?p=4929"},"modified":"2017-05-28T22:50:46","modified_gmt":"2017-05-29T06:50:46","slug":"slipping-away-mentally-ill-homeless-recieve-no-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/4929\/slipping-away-mentally-ill-homeless-recieve-no-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Slipping Away: Mentally Ill Homeless Receive No Care"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Irma Garcia holds her cat “Joey” on Tuesday (Feb.14) in South San Francisco and begins to cry as she mentions how the raccoons living around her campsite are constantly attacking her cat. She says she worries they will hurt Joey. Photos by Jessica Worthington.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

By Jessica Worthington<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

August 6, 2012<\/p>\n

She looks away, lowering her head and letting her hands fall limply to her sides. Slowly, she raises her head and with tears welling up in her eyes she answers the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cDead,\u201d she says. \u201cDead in a grave somewhere\u2026that\u2019s where I see myself in five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

She holds my soft hands in her own, rough and weathered.<\/p>\n

For the past three years, Irma Garcia has been battling far more than homelessness on the streets of South San Francisco. Garcia struggles with mental illness, including severe depression. Her greatest challenge, however, is the lack of a support system.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Irma Garcia walks under an overpass in South San Francisco on Tuesday (Feb.14) heading back to her campsite to feed her 7-month-old cat she named “Joey”.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting old, too old to be living on the streets, but what are my options?\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s no one around willing to help me and I can\u2019t do it on my own\u2014I\u2019ve tried.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our relationship began as a fairly routine photo assignment. I went in search for a subject\u2014a homeless woman. I didn\u2019t have to go far.<\/p>\n

As our rapport developed, she told me about years of sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the \u2018bad seed\u2019 growing up,\u201d she said. \u201cI was sexually abused by a trusted family member for years and when I finally spoke out; my mother slapped me across the face so hard, I bled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before Garcia ended up on the streets three years ago, she lacked a support system. At 15, she was raped by a man who lied to her about his age. Two months later she found out she was pregnant and left her parents house in search for him. Ten years of physical abuse and four children later, she wound up in multiple women’s shelters waiting for section 8 housing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Irma Garcia, 45, visits the Library in South San Francisco on Tuesday (Feb.28). She logs on to her Facebook and looks through pictures of herself from four years ago when she was in a much better situation and not living on the streets. “This is when I had teeth” says Garcia.<\/p><\/div>\n

“I failed them as a parent,” Garcia said. “I didn\u2019t do it right, but I never laid a hand on any of them\u2014I didn\u2019t want them to have the childhood I had.”<\/p>\n

She tells me that her family wants nothing to do with her until she stops drinking and gets the help she needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a nervous breakdown,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cI used to work for a program in South San Francisco that did outreach to the homeless. I took classes at Skyline College to get the job and made 16 bucks an hour\u2014you think I wanted to give that up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia recounts continuous conflict with her partner on the job as the trigger to her nervous breakdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have a car. I took the bus to meet her and ride along to where we needed to go. I was always early, sometimes an hour early\u2014but that\u2019s the bus system. She told my boss that she waited for me and I never showed up. She never waited though, and no one believed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia says that she was watching her job fall apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went and bought a small bottle of alcohol and headed to the park. She had stood me up again that day and lied about it. I sat in a swing and drank it. Then, I looked down by my feet and saw a broken bottle. I thought \u2018I\u2019m done with this life, I don\u2019t want it anymore\u2019 and that\u2019s when I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The police found her at the park with her wrists slit. She was taken to a hospital in Vallejo and held for 25 days as a 51\/50 patient and then released.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The campsite in South San Francisco where Irma Garcia, 45, has been living for the past three years.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still trying to figure out why I\u2019m here, but God must not be ready for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was diagnosed with ADHD, extreme depression, bipolar disorder, and multiple personality disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me my brain waves were not right,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cThey give me pills once a month and that\u2019s the extent of my care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia was prescribed Abilify, Celexa and Trazodone.<\/p>\n

Garcia also struggles with alcoholism\u2014her form of self-medicating. Fifty percent of the mentally ill homeless population in the United States suffers from substance abuse and dependence, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got a big heart\u2014 always wanting to help other people, but this lead to people taking advantage of her,\u201d said Tony Alvarado, South San Francisco Police Officer. \u201cPeople broke into her home and stole from her on numerous occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia was evicted from her apartment for taking in too many people. Within 30 days, she headed to a liquor store and then a bench. That\u2019s where Sam, a homeless man, found her. It was pouring rain.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam [with whom Garcia is still living] saw me and he said, \u201cI have a little tent\u201d.<\/p>\n

The scope of the problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

Each year, 3.5 million people experience homelessness and of this statistic, 22 percent suffer from a mental illness, according to SAMHSA.<\/p>\n

Garcia is one of 770,000 homeless people in the U.S. suffering from a mental illness.<\/p>\n

Only 20 percent of the mentally ill, unsheltered, homeless in San Mateo County are accessing mental health services, according to the 2011 San Mateo County Homeless Census and Survey. Therefore, 80 percent of mentally ill people in San Mateo County are not getting the help they need. Why is that?<\/p>\n

Laura\u2019s Law<\/a>, a California state law passed in 2002, allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment for the severely mentally ill. To qualify, the person must have a recent history of psychiatric hospitalizations, jailings, or threats or attempts of serious violent behavior towards [self] or others. However, the statute can only be utilized in counties that choose to enact outpatient services based on the measure. To date Nevada County is the only county that has fully implemented Laura\u2019s Law.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Irma Garcia, 45, who has been homeless for three years on the streets of South San Francisco, is given a clothing voucher for 25 dollars to spend at the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Thrift Store on Tuesday (Feb.14). The Hospitality Room inside St. Vincent de Paul is where Garcia can pick up her mail and any toiletries and undergarments she needs.<\/p><\/div>\n

In the first two-and-a-half years, the county has saved more than $500,000 by avoiding hospitalizations and incarcerations, according to a report written by its civil grand jury.<\/p>\n

Back in 2004, Los Angeles County implemented this law on a limited basis.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only operative if the county board of supervisors authorizes its application and finds that no other mental health programs already in place will be reduced from funding this program. However, if this program has proven to save money, then why after 10 years of it being in place has only one county in California been using it in its entirety?<\/p>\n

Proposition 63<\/a>, the so-called “millionaire’s tax,\u201d which was passed in 2004 after decades of mental health cuts, was designed to help mentally ill residents like Irma Garcia. In 2005, the proposition was revised to allow funds to be used for \u201cinvoluntary services\u201d. Seven years later, only Nevada and Los Angeles counties are utilizing Laura\u2019s Law funds.<\/p>\n

San Francisco was considering adopting the proposal back in 2010, but instead postponed the action. Against the law was former San Francisco Public Health Director Mitch Katz. He said he believes that it offers no potential for effective treatment because it doesn\u2019t make it easier to forcibly administer drugs.<\/p>\n

However, this is no longer a debate on effectiveness. There is a visible record of progress that Nevada County has demonstrated. Its success can no longer be denied, nor can lack of funds be justification for choosing to not implement this law.<\/p>\n

Tom Anderson, Superior Court judge in charge of Nevada County’s program, suggests that the opposition to Laura’s Law by county health departments throughout California is due to the accountability that would be placed on these departments by the courts for providing treatment they promise.<\/p>\n

State legislation authorizing Laura\u2019s Law is set to expire at the end of this year. If Assembly Bill 1569<\/a> is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, Laura\u2019s Law will remain in effect for six more years. If not, Laura\u2019s Law can no longer be applied in California.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are my three wishes?\u201d said Garcia. \u201cWell, to see my children, peace on earth, and help\u2014the kind of help that doesn\u2019t give up because there\u2019s nothing about this life that I prefer.\u201d<\/p>\n

More Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Irma Garcia,45, looks into her mirror she has recently found from an old baby crib and brushes her teeth on Tuesday in South San Francisco. She says that it is important for her to brush her teeth and keep up her appearance.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Irma Garcia looks through the clothing racks at St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Thrift Store located in South San Francisco. She was given a 25 dollar clothing voucher on Tuesday (Feb. 14) from Lisa Collins, director of the Homeless Help Center, because she cannot afford to purchase clothes at this time.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Irma Garcia, 45, sits down to enjoy her free lunch from a waitress at Denny’s on Tuesday (Feb.28). Garcia states that the waitress is very kind and has told Garcia that she is a very nice person and would like to help her out as much as she can.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Irma Garcia, 45, enjoys a quick chat with her friend (name not given) on Tuesday (Feb.28) in South San Francisco. Garcia says that she knows a lot of people and has few enemies, which is how you get by when you live on the streets.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

A dreamcatcher hangs from a tree in Irma Garcia’s campsite in South San Francisco on Tuesday (Feb.28). Garcia believes that the dreamcatcher brings her good luck and often talks about the movie “Dreamcatcher” and how it’s one of her favorites.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Irma Garcia, 45, screams inside of her tent last Tues. (July 24) after drinking heavily. Garcia is a homeless woman who resides in South San Francisco.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Late afternoon on Tuesday (Feb.14), Irma Garcia crawls into her tent that she and her boyfriend Sam set up beside an overpass in South San Francisco. She states that she is drunk, her feet ache from walking all day, and that she needs to rest.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past three years, Irma Garcia has been battling far more than homelessness on the streets of South San Francisco. Garcia struggles with mental illness, including severe depression. Her greatest challenge, however, is the lack of a support system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8857,"featured_media":4936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,63,43,763,222,19],"tags":[1725,1726,1459,2770,1723,1728,1722,1727,1724,540],"class_list":["post-4929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcare","category-homelessness","category-housing","category-human-interest","category-news","category-opinion","tag-adhd","tag-alcoholism","tag-bnr","tag-homelessness","tag-irma-garcia","tag-lauras-law","tag-mental-health","tag-samhsa","tag-sexual-abuse","tag-sfpd"],"yoast_head":"\nSlipping Away: Mentally Ill Homeless Receive No Care - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/4929\/slipping-away-mentally-ill-homeless-recieve-no-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Slipping Away: Mentally Ill Homeless Receive No Care - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the past three years, Irma Garcia has been battling far more than homelessness on the streets of South San Francisco. 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