Originally Posted by
danielleinto 
If he's going to court in the future you might see if you can give the judge a letter (the more letters the better) telling him that he has psychiatric problems and needs help. My family did this for a drug addict. They had a facility for inmates with drug problems and he was sent there. The judge did read the letters and he heard us.
I'm bipolar and during depressions I did ask for help. After over 10 years I'm finally on a mood stabilizer that works. My daughter is my support person when it comes to my mental health. There aren't many people who can tell me I need to see the doctor when I'm not well, I get very defensive. It's very common for the mentally ill to self-medicate. Another thing you can do is tell the police that he's mentally ill if he's arrested again. They might take him to the hospital for a psych evaluation.
We did write a letter and it really seems to have helped. Thank you!
He has had a psychiatric evaluation, and he is on new medication. He is diagnosed as bipolar, with manic depression and narcissism, which we are trying to learn about. It seems that people in the system really need an advocate working for them, especially when they are not able to ask for what they need. He is not yet asking for help for mental illness, but through the system we have been able to communicate his needs. We are in contact with his nurse, his psychiatrist, his public defender, and a mental heath advocate.
He is still up/down. Some days he DEMANDS to be bailed out OR ELSE and can't seem to decipher reality vs. delusion. Some days he seems more like "my brother". One day at a time.....