It was a nice day in June when Keith Pascoe and his wife Patty visited Children’s Park in the Village of Lake Orion.
While pushing his granddaughter on the swings, Keith was dragged to the ground and knocked unconscious by a mentally ill man who had once lived in a home in the village.
Chad Woodard, 29, whose last known address is in Oxford, was charged with the assault. He has a history of refusing to take any medication, according to LO Police reports, and has previously acted in bizarre and dangerous behavior.
Pascoe, early in August, asked village officials to find out how this incident was allowed to happen and what steps could be taken to regulate homes that house mentally ill people in the village.
Jackie Wilson, executive director of Training & Treatment Innovations in Oxford, Julianna Stitz, TTI’s clinical program administrator, and Eric Wilson, Oakland County Commissioner addressed the issue at the Aug. 22 council meeting.
According to Jackie, TTI doesn’t operate any type of homes for mentally ill people. What it does do, is provide a variety of services for persons with developmental disabilities, emotional impairment and mental illness. It does a lot of outreach programs.
TTI has been in the area for almost 10 years. It’s currently providing services for about 600 individuals.
The Oakland County Community Health Authority contracts with residential service providers.
According to Jackie, there are a variety of living arrangements for people who have mental health problems.
The goal is to mainstream people into communities as much as possible.
Some people live with their families. Others may have their own apartments. ‘There are different levels of group homes. It depends on the level of the conditions of (the people needing help),? Stitz said.
Some are licensed and staffed, others have no supervision and aren’t licensed.
What ever type of living arrangement, people involved with TTI still have a variety of clinical support.
According to Jackie, one of the most visible support homes in the village (on Shadbolt) is not a facility that falls under licensing guidelines for group homes.
All organizations involved with people with mental health problems must be careful to protect their civil liberties.
Stitz said people who refuse to take medication, TTI can’t make them.
‘We do work with them and help them to understand the importance of taking medication and the reasons they’re taking it,? Jackie added.
A person who is having trouble is first given an assessment to see what type of help is needed and what kind of living arrangement would be best based on the level of the person’s condition.
Assessments are done at a minimum of one a year.
‘We’re looking for assistance in enforcement with members who have been placed here,? councilman Ken Van Portfliet said. ‘The police chief gets no enforcement help information. So where can we go??
‘We do provide support (phone) after hours,? Stitz said. ‘We would be willing to have a series of meetings with him.?
Van Portfliet asked about ‘recycling.? Your people move on and then come back with the same problems,? he said.
‘We want to help people stay in the community,? Stitz said.
Jackie agreed. ‘We just don’t move people. We try to resolve the issues. I think there’s some misunderstanding about our rules and our responsibilities after hours.
‘You need to know specifics,? she told council members. ‘It’s hard to talk specifics in public.?
People with mental health problems can be taken to a hospital for reassessment if they’re considered a risk to others. There may be a court hearing if someone has filled out a petition for some type of assisted outpatient treatment. This is called Kevin’s Law.
The person who filed the petition will not be informed about the outcome of the hearing unless the person who you are partitioning for decides to release this information to you.
They may also be taken to Common Ground Sanctuary, an agency that screens people for psychiatric hospitalization.
It’s my understanding this guy’s (Woodard) is back on the street. People are afraid to go to the park,? Hollenbeck said.
‘This is always a challenging issue. Sometimes our hands are tied. I understand your frustration. We can’t monitor everyone; we’re not allowed to,? Stitz said.
‘We don’t follow everyone whereever they go. These are people with civil liberties,? Jackie said
Hollenbeck doesn’t believe it’s the police chief’s responsibility either.
‘The police chief shouldn’t have to monitor these type of people,? he added.
‘I appreciate the job you do, but how could your system allow this person back on the street?? Pascoe asked the two women.
‘In this incidence, once the judicial system gets involved, we have no involvement,? Jackie said.