Dear John

My husband and I heard about TAC shortly after our then 19-year-old son was discharged from the hospital by a judge, against the strong recommendations of his doctors. Our son’s psychosis, and what we later learned was anosognosia, prevented him from being able to access medical care voluntarily. He refused even to be weighed or have his blood pressure taken. Still, a Maryland judge decided our son wasn’t a threat to himself or others and that he should be released – to seek outpatient treatment on his own.

My husband and I felt devastated and helpless. We could not force our son to get treatment, he did not recognize that he was sick, and he was getting worse every day. A psychologist told us about TAC and directed us to their website.

As a lawyer and a mother, I devoured TAC’s resources and the persuasive, sensible advocacy to change laws so that those with severe mental illness (SMI) get the help they need. In our experience, medical professionals wanted to help our son, but Maryland laws at the time effectively elevated the “right” to stay sick and suffer over the right to access treatment.

After our son’s release, he retreated to the basement, spending his days staring at the ceiling and refusing any form of help. One day, he mentioned an interest in participating in a sports competition halfway across the country. Desperate to get him out of the basement, we decided to let him go. We turned again to TAC’s resources to prepare ourselves, knowing the challenges we might face if his mental health symptoms persisted during his trip, which is exactly what happened. He was taken to a crisis center, where a judge ordered him to a hospital. It was there that our son finally received the care he desperately needed.

With his psychosis under control, we had our son back. A year later, he was adhering to treatment and in college, where he has just started his sophomore year. It is not an exaggeration to say that by tirelessly advocating to secure better laws surrounding SMI, TAC helped save our son’s life.

I am grateful every day that we found TAC in time to get the knowledge we needed to help us navigate the intersecting labyrinths of the mental health and criminal legal systems. That is why I am asking you to join me in making an end-of-year gift to TAC.

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I do not want any family to go through the anxiety and uncertainty we did in order to secure treatment for their loved one. From my family to yours, thank you for your donation to support TAC’s life-saving work.

Sincerely,
A Maryland Mom

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Our mailing address is:
200 Daingerfield Rd, Suite 202, Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: (703) 294-6001
Fax: (703) 294-6010
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