Psychiatric News August 20, 2004
Volume 39 Number 16
© 2004 American Psychiatric Association
p. 6
`You Have to Make Your Own Plans'
Barbara Weitz, 71, is the mother of an adult son with bipolar disorder and
drug addiction, a combination she called a "terrible double
whammy."
Weitz attended the Older Caregiver Project workshop near her home in Silver
Spring, Md., last year, to learn how she could provide some kind of
stability—financial and otherwise—for her son when she may no
longer be able to do so (see story above).
Yet stability is one thing that has, for the most part, eluded her son.
"He has lived with me in the past and has been in a number of
drug-rehabilitation programs, hospitals, and mental health facilities,"
she told Psychiatric News. "Two weeks ago, he was arrested, and
it's a shame because people with mental illness don't belong in
jail."
Weitz said she found the workshop to be extremely helpful and in particular
appreciated the information about the legal issues involving trusts and
wills.
"You have to make your own plans—you can't expect your
situation to be taken care of by someone else," she emphasized.
Related Article:
-
Workshop Prepares Aging Parents To Provide for Mentally Ill Children
- Eve Bender
Psychiatr News 2004 39: 6.
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