CAPE CORAL, Fla., - What do you do if your loved one is mentally ill and in danger of harming themselves or others around them?
It’s a question that’s being highlighted by the recent tragic school shooting in Broward County.
One local parent is saying he is struggling to get his daughter the help she needs.
“I don’t know what else to do. I can’t sleep at night. Every time i hear a siren, i think its her,” said James Laster, of Cape Coral.
Laster says his daughter is 33 years old and diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“10 years ago I noticed she started acting differently on the phone. Profanity. Staring at walls. Talking to walls. Things like that,” Laster said.
Laster says things have gotten worse over the years and his daughter has lost her job, her kids and her home. She now lives on the streets of Santa Barbara Blvd and refuses to get help.
“We’ve tried taking her to a professional. No way you’re getting her in there,” said Laster. “It’s the worst. It’s like a slow death watching your kid die and there’s nothing you can do.”
Laster says every time he’s tried to get help for her, he’s told something has to happen before they will help her.
“She’s got to act up, get hurt, get hit by a car, something has to happen terrible before this help can come.”
Laster says his daughter has said she would kill herself multiple times and he feel she is a danger to herself and others.
“If there’s a threat that she can harm herself or someone else, then she is eligible for a mandatory psychological evaluation,” said Lauren Mason, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist at The Mind Spa in Naples.
The Florida Baker Act allows law enforcement and healthcare professionals to involuntarily require someone to receive a mental health evaluation if they show signs of having a mental illness and are a threat to themselves or others.
