21372: Hermantin Re: 21371: Jay: Re: 21346: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-Woman charged (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

"All the actions reported and attributed to this woman point to a clear cut
case of a human being victim of delusions and obviously needs psychological
and
mental health treatment. Where is her family? where are the social
workers,pastors and priests in that community? Is she just going to be
arrested
andthrown in jail with charges of disturbing the peace with violence? There
should be a better way." Matt Jay


There should be a better way indeed!  As recently as February another
Haitian mother, was accused of having deliberatly set the fire which took
the lives of four of her six children ranging in ages from 6 months to 17
years. Mrs Auguste who escaped the fire, died recently of injuries
sustained during the incident.  These women represent an increasing number
of Haitian women in South Florida   considered newsworthy because of their
propensity to harm themselves, their children or members of their community.

Where are the families, social workers, priests and pastors you ask?  The
reality is that the resources available to deal with mentally ill Creole
speakers are very limited indeed. The problem is compounded by the fact that
many of these  individuals lack the requisite medical coverage needed to
ensure long term therapeutic care. The " Florida Health Insurance Study"
indicates that neighborhoods with large enclaves of Haitians have between
25% and 43% non-elderly uninsured residents.  The University of Miami School
of Medicine  in a needs assessment study conducted by Dr. Gilbert St. Jean,
reports that 50% of Haitians under the age of 65 are uninsured, the highest
rate of any other ethnic group. Many Haitian families  have limited access
to preventive care and many secure access medical services through the use
of the local hospitals' emergency rooms.

The community's ability to understand and deal with the mentally ill is
another story altogether, one requiring perhaps the attention of academics
and or Ph.D. candidates. The person suffering from depression, bi-polar
disorder, and any other type of psychosis is considered either crazy ,
somehow incurable or possessed by one lwa or another.  As you know, mental
illness is usually attributed to supernatural causes.  Things are never what
they appear to be and treatment is usually sought in the spiritual realm at
the hougan's, church or temple.

Are there Haitian mental health professionals capable of attacking this
problems? absolutly. Are they accessible to those who need them the most?
Absolutly not, they work for the most part in facilities requiring some form
of insurance.  Mental health professionals are usually in high demand and
are readily "grabbed" by hospitals, schools and other similar institutions.

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