@gleee58 wrote:
I have a cousin that faced similar risk. A few years on and he has full time job and has been OS on holiday. Thankfully.
I believe that with many of these cases there can be good outcomes, but it requires an enormous effort from family and ongoing ( read expensive ) support from government agencies. Unfortunately serious teenage mental health issues place a huge strain on the family unit and virtually all of the dozen or so kids mentioned in previous post come from single parent families. The mothers left to care for the kids are scared of them as they can become extremly violent. One of the kids bedroom door is just a frame hanging from the hinges, the rest splintered with holes. This is the house where the group of kids sleep in the garage. A couple of other kids in the group have parents who have mental health issues themselves. One of the kids has an older brother in prison and a second older brother out on parole, living at his parents house with an ankle bracelet ( for firearms offences ). This son is dealing in a range of drugs now from home, while wearing the ankle bracelet at home. What hope has the younger child got ?
Rather than confront the kids and try to enforce acceptable boundries, the parents just let them go, to do what they please as the threat of violence or just the effort required is just too hard.
The Government agencies involved with these kids already know the answers and the systems in place for the lucky few do work, but are expensive. They need a suportive family enviroment where they are reminded daily to take their meds, encouraged to keep to a routine including school and attend medical appointments. ( but this is not there for the kids who are already roaming the streets ) The kids need access to crisis care ( secure Phsyce wards ) when things go badly wrong, but these cost $3000 per day, per kid and are almost impossible to access unless you know how the system works. Most importantly the kids need access to long term regular phscology to learn to manage their conditions. Yes this does work, but again is expensive and rationed to a lucky few. Again this just aint gonna happen if the kids are running wild without family support.
These kids are the homeless people of tommorow. They are already living fairly transient lives, sleeping everywhere but their family homes. Not always showering regularly, getting involved in substance abuse and petty crime. They are experiencing violence from older people and are generally ostrasised by society as a bunch of "crazies". The answer for these kids is early intervention to get them into programs before the families fall apart, the parents give up and the kids start roaming. BUT THIS COSTS MONEY.
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