To the Sandy Pruett Project,

I am requesting advocacy guidance and system review support regarding my family’s experience involving repeated mental health crises, law enforcement involvement, incarceration, and custody-related impacts affecting an adult child with serious mental illness.

This summary is intentionally de-identified to protect privacy and reduce potential risk.

1. Background: Serious Mental Health Vulnerability

An adult family member has a documented history of severe mental health crises involving suicidal ideation, access to lethal means during crisis periods, and repeated psychiatric decompensation.

Following a court-ordered psychological evaluation, diagnoses included:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder

There is also a history of substance use disorder and relapse cycles contributing to instability.

Family members have repeatedly communicated mental health history and suicide risk information to responding agencies during crisis-related contacts for the purpose of improving safety and de-escalation.

2. Crisis Events and Law Enforcement Involvement (Summary)

Beginning in 2018, the individual experienced multiple acute suicidal crises that resulted in law enforcement involvement.

Key patterns observed:

• Crisis episodes involving suicidal ideation and high-risk behavior
• Law enforcement response during active mental health emergencies
• Arrest and incarceration occurring during or immediately following crisis events
• At least one instance of a suicide attempt occurring while in custody requiring emergency medical intervention
• Delays or missed opportunities for psychiatric diversion or inpatient stabilization following crisis encounters

3. System Coordination and Treatment Gaps

During multiple crisis events, there were attempts by family members to provide:

• psychiatric history
• suicide risk information
  and prior arrangements
• for mental health evaluation or placement

However, there were repeated breakdowns in:

• continuity of psychiatric evaluation
• coordination between courts, law enforcement, and behavioral health systems
• timely diversion from jail to treatment settings

4. Family Safety and Protective Measures

In the current period, the individual experienced relapse into substance use and escalating behavioral instability, resulting in safety concerns for family members.

A protection order was filed to ensure safety while still recognizing underlying mental health and substance use disorder factors.

The individual is currently not stable and is not in consistent contact with family.

5. Public Communication and Privacy Concerns (Recent Events)

In 2026, a local law enforcement agency made public social media posts referencing enforcement activity in which the individual was included among multiple participants.

A subsequent post included:

• the individual’s photograph
• reference to legal status
• wide circulation on social media

Family members raised concerns regarding the potential impact of public identification on an individual with known mental health vulnerability and suicide risk history.

A later post from the same agency included a photograph involving minor children connected to the family system, raising additional concerns regarding privacy and exposure of children in a high-conflict legal and mental health context.

6. Systemic Concerns

This case highlights potential systemic issues in:

• Crisis diversion (jail vs. psychiatric stabilization during suicidal emergencies)
• Suicide prevention in custody settings
• Continuity of mental health care following law enforcement involvement
• Integration of family-provided mental health history into crisis response
• Public communication practices involving individuals with known mental health vulnerability
• Privacy considerations involving minors in legally sensitive family situations

7. Request for Guidance / Advocacy Support

I am seeking assistance, guidance, or advocacy review regarding:

• appropriate mental health diversion pathways during crisis law enforcement encounters
• best practices for reducing incarceration of individuals in active psychiatric crisis
• strengthening coordination between behavioral health and justice systems
• policy considerations regarding public identification of vulnerable individuals in law enforcement communications

My intent is to contribute to improved system responses for individuals with serious mental illness and co-occurring conditions, and to reduce the likelihood of repeated crisis cycling between systems without treatment stabilization.

Respectfully submitted,
H.R. Carty