Viewpoint: More needed for people in mental health crisis

Dave Stalling

Two years ago, I met a remarkable man, and we grew close very quickly. He is unusually intelligent, refreshingly honest, and deeply kind and compassionate. We both carry the weight of past trauma, and in many ways, we helped each other heal.

He helped me come to terms with my Marine Corps experiences, anger issues, past violence, and difficult relationships. Through our friendship, I learned to see the best in others, to view the world differently, and to become a more empathetic and compassionate person.

Unfortunately, we both turned to drugs as a way of coping. In October, however, we helped each other quit. He stopped using entirely and abruptly. About a month later, he began experiencing severe paranoia and psychosis consistent with schizophrenic-like symptoms. He came to believe that I, along with family members and other loved ones, was part of a conspiracy to kill him or have him locked away.
He believed we were communicating through Morse code via his electronic devices.

One night, after writing a six-page letter outlining these delusions, he destroyed his television and other electronics with a baseball bat and then attacked his father, believing he was acting in self-defense. He was subsequently arrested and charged with causing bodily injury to a family member (a misdemeanor) and assault with a weapon (a felony). Prior to this incident, he had never had any contact with the criminal justice system.

Anger, paranoia, and psychosis are well-documented symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal. When combined with unresolved trauma and underlying mental health conditions, these factors likely contributed to his mental state and behavior at the time.

Like so many others struggling with mental illness and substance use, my friend needs treatment—not punishment. He has tremendous potential and a sincere desire to recover and live a healthy, productive life. Yet he is not receiving the help he desperately needs.

He has now been incarcerated for more than six weeks. During this time, I have written multiple letters to the leadership of the Missoula County Crisis Intervention Team, the Missoula County Attorney’s Office, and a mental health professional at the Missoula County Detention Center. I have informed them of his condition and provided copies of the six-page letter he wrote prior to his arrest.

Although I have received a few brief acknowledgments, there is no indication that any meaningful action has been taken.

I was told that information could not be shared with me without a signed disclosure, even though I was not seeking information but attempting to provide it. I was told that a mental health evaluation could not be conducted without his consent, despite the fact that he is currently incapable of providing informed consent. I was told that his court-appointed attorney might contact me, yet no attorney has reached out.

His parents have also attempted to obtain information and advocate on his behalf, but they have been met with silence.

At present, the only apparent effort being made is to reduce his bail so that he can be released. If released, he will likely be homeless, and his condition will almost certainly deteriorate further.

As a nation, we frequently speak about the importance of addressing mental health and providing support to those in crisis. Yet in this case, no meaningful help is being provided.

Why is my friend not receiving the evaluations, treatment, support, and resources he so clearly needs and deserves?

David Stalling is a writer, photographer and advocate living in Missoula.