YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett

People with schizophrenia can be treated. They are not dangerous if their schizophrenia is controlled. If this man is believed still to need constant supervision then his loss/abscondment is an issue. But in the absence of further information this item is encouraging knee-jerk prejudice.
 

This is a guy who is dangerous, I have a couple friends who are diagnosed as schizophrenic, one of them probably does not suffer schizophrenia at all, but has other stuff going on. the friend I have who IS definately schizophrenic is fine as long as he takes his meds, and a bit strange when he doesn't, but he's an o.k. guy even off his meds.

The escapee however is one of those folks who should please be kept in his institution, he has killed before and he is a really accomplished escape artist. Some people even on medication can remain dangerous, and he has sadly.

I am really madder at the people who 1. allowed him on a field trip and 2. failed to notify the police when the guy walked off. They waited 2 hours to do it. That is probably because any policeman would have asked why the man was out at all.

I do not know how it works in the U.K. but there are a lot of people out and about on meds who belong in institutions. It makes poor neighborhoods a lot more dangerous and makes public spaces a lot more dangerous.

If people can be out and manage their issues by taking the right drugs great! But I have had to deal with situations from time to time where someone should really have been in an appropriate institution. Once such a person nearly harmed my daughter, it was a female in a playground who was having a psychotic break and she trapped my daughter and another couple of little girls in a play structure. It was terrifying for me. I also have a friend with an ex-husband who needs meds and doesn't get them and another friend who'se ex was really a difficult person to deal with before he got his meds. I've had to be in the middle of an unfair share of incidents as a result of how things are done (or NOT) in the U.S.
 

I certainly take on board all you say about your very unpleasant experiences and whoever failed in their responsibility to supervise the patient has some explaining to do, but there's quite a lot of unthinking prejudice against the mentally ill in the UK, particularly channelled via the tabloids.
 

Yeah, I hear you there about those tabloids! I think there is a real need to educate people on mental illness, especially if mentally ill people are going to be out and about. It would help everyone!

Then the concept of de-institutionalization would have a prayer of working!

Here in the States, more of the prejudice is towards people with intellectual disabilities.

In BiH really out there people do tend to be institutionalized, (Unless they enter politics anyway...can we all say Dodik?)

There is a differnt thing in BiH which is there are programs on T.V. that showcase dance troupes, music and art by people from mental institutions and institutions for intellectually disabled people. I attended one such show in Sarajevo, for intellectually disabled people and saw several such shows on T.V. and I think it is a good thing, a little beyond Special Olympics which I also think is a good thing.

The patients have a chance to sell some of their art and raise money for extras where they live, and that is a good thing.

Mental institutions in the Balkans are underfunded, but it seems they in many cases have decent staff people.