Schizophrenia at Hyde Park and the great John Mayer

No, this is not another misuse of the term for a very serious neurological condition. There actually was a paranoid schizophrenic at Hyde Park this weekend. I took David to see Eric Clapton, Cheryl Crow and John Mayer and no-one recognized that someone with treatment resistant paranoid schizophrenia was amongst them - in fact, David was better behaved than many of the intimidating, smoking, view obscuring males around us.

John Mayer stole the show. Eric Clapton seems to agree because he gave John a big hug and lots of space to riff the blues during the last number. Eric is a big man and John Mayer is the new man on the block and the next big influence on Davids own guitar playing.

Update on the last post

I have added some notes to the evidence pages:

The situation.

Three recovering mental health patients are sharing a house. The last to join the household (R) moved in during May 2007. He is a tee-total, non smoker with a healthy lifestyle.

The residence is a newly built semi-detached house with shared kitchen, lounge, bathroom and toilets.

The following pages document some of the conditions created by the two clients already in occupation.

The two other residents (T & S) are chain smokers and indulge in this habit throughout the house. Apparently there is nothing the landlords can do about this so that R cannot use any of the shared facilities owing to the general filth and choking stench of tobacco smoke, stale bodies and dirty clothes. In addition S is a self confessed recreational drug user and T is an alcoholic who is often incoherent by mid-day.

Other worrying incidents include various acts of vandalism, such as the theft of the pay phone, permanent damage to the new phone which eventually replaced the first one, drawing on the walls, holes cut in the lounge carpet and the opening and destruction of other peoples mail.

Recently, there was a bad atmosphere between T and S so R left the premises to stay the night with relatives. That evening the police had to be called to the house to deal with a violent incident.

Sometime in February 2008, just after dawn R was awakened by someone shouting and kicking his door. As usual S had left the back door unlocked and one of his drug suppliers had entered the house uninvited, found the wrong bedroom and demanded access to deliver drugs and, presumably, obtain some cash. Neither S nor T made any attempt to intervene so R was left to guard his door from the inside whilst the unknown intruder shouted threats and kicked the door for 20 minutes or more. Eventually the interloper left and has never been identified.

A few weeks after the last incident there was another threatening intrusion, this time at 3am in the morning. Again, as usual, S had left the house unlocked (he regularly loses his keys so keeps all the doors unlocked even if they are secured by the other residents) and someone let himself in to stand outside T's bedroom door to kick it and make violent threats to kill T by stabbing him. Again S or T made no attempt to deal with the intruder who eventually left.

I relate the last two incidents to emphasise the lack of privacy and security in the building. Acquaintances of S and T regard the house as public property and roam around uninvited at any time, night or day.

Evidence

Some evidence of the conditions at the shared residence can be viewed here.

Still trying.....................

Living conditions are still very bad for David. We sent this letter a few days ago.

We shall see………….

Dear Madam ,

we were pleased to receive a "Comment Card" from mcch. It arrives five months after our son first moved to 7 Thirlmere Close at a point when we are again frustrated in our efforts to improve the conditions there. At present (late October) most of the house is uninhabitable.

Following a meeting with Maria Oconnor, David, and the staff at Thirlmere on the 13th of June, one month after David moved in, Maria took matters seriously. She made her own investigations and took action which did lead to improvements and a letter to all resident’s outlining their responsibilities. We are grateful to her for her speedy response.

This is a copy of an email sent to Maria on 12/08/07

"Dear Maria

We are prompted by our recent visits to 7 Thirlmere to update you following your letter to the residents. On Friday afternoon on the 10th of August we noted that both toilets had faeces on the seats and inside the bowl. The one upstairs had diarrhoea splashed over the seat. They were both so filthy that David was unable to use them.

In the morning before we arrived David was due to clean the kitchen but another resident (as usual) had left so much mess including opened food containers, plates of half eaten food and clothing strewn everywhere that it was impossible to find a vacant surface. One of the care workers had arrived so we picked up David hoping that the resident responsible for the mess would be made to clear it. On our return there had been no improvement. The house was empty and, as usual the back door and side gate were left open with no sign of a back door key to secure the premises. Three bags of rubbish, which had appeared several days earlier, were still blocking the landing and there was no light here or in the top toilet. David has since told us that he managed to vacuum and mop some of the kitchen floor after we left.

We visited briefly on Saturday to find that more filth had been added to that of the previous day. I noted a full ashtray and two cigarette lighters in the kitchen. One of the other residents, the only one present over this period, set the fire alarm off twice while we were there. There was an unbearable stench of tobacco smoke everywhere. Both toilets were still too filthy to use and the lounge was in a similar state to the kitchen.

If you need them, I can send photographs. They are not too clear because the lights were not functioning upstairs.

The situation with the lavatories is an unacceptable health hazard. We urge you to give it a high priority. Might I suggest that, pending a permanent solution to this problem, you limit the occupant who is not toilet trained to using the downstairs lavatory only so that the one upstairs can be kept clean enough for the other residents.
David will be away for a week so we trust that this letter will help you to pursue matters to a satisfactory conclusion by the time he returns.

We appreciate the steps you have already taken but feel that further, more drastic measures are needed to deal with the person who is continually making this shared accommodation uninhabitable for anyone else. We reiterate that David is content with his own room and wishes to stay, even though at present the rest of the house is too dirty to use.

David

Here also is a copy of a letter sent to Terry White from David’s social worker.

..............................................

"Re: 7 Thirlmere Close
I am writing in my capacity of care co-ordinator of David who resides at the above supported housing scheme to express my concerns about the appalling conditions that he has to live in. When I visited today, David showed me the kitchen, which was filthy. The sink was piled high with dirty plates and the worktop was covered in food. The fridge, which was also dirty contained an empty egg box, two half empty food cans, some butter and a half eaten meal of beans on toast, which David had informed me, had been there for two weeks. The living room again, was filthy and smelt, as did the whole house. The downstairs toilet had excrement over the pan and David informed me that the upstairs bathroom was worse. (I didn’t view this as I was feeling a little delicate - but when I viewed it on a previous occasion there was excrement on the floor. This was reported to Dean, Support worker.) David informed me that he is using toilet seat liners, because he is concerned about the poor hygiene and how it will affect his health. Finally, the back door is being left open at all times, despite this issue being raised at a previous meeting. I was particularly concerned to hear that the pay phone in the hall had been stolen and that the residents are unable to contact support staff if an emergency arises.

As I informed you today, fortunately, David is self sufficient. He has a fridge and a microwave in his room and is preparing all his own meals there. He loves his room and is really happy residing in the area. In my opinion, David is a good tenant and it is unfair that he has to tolerate this.

Yours sincerely

Terry “

______________________________

To be fair there have been positive changes to the facilities provided.
The TV signal has improved and towel holders are fixed. The rubbish on the landing was removed but has since been replaced by another pile.
Earlier this week a new lock was put into the back door and a shower fitted in the upstairs bathroom.

We also need to note that the gas has been left burning on several occasions and that the fire alarm is set off regularly, at all hours and there has always been a huge pile of dirty clothes on the dining room table.

Recently the staff did spend time cleaning up the house. They made a very good start but on Sunday the 14th of October we found the kitchen and toilet in their usual appalling state with a breathtaking stench throughout.

David’s friends and relatives are still unable to contact him as the telephone is still missing. We have been informed that when one of the tenants’ moves in mid November the emergency telephone will be replaced immediately.

Despite us all being assured at the first interview that there will be no smoking in the downstairs cloakroom, kitchen, bathroom, hall and stairways, this is clearly not true. In fact, the conditions have become much worse since the smoking ban has prevented the other residents from smoking in the local pubs. David is now concerned about the effect this is having on his health. We hope that when one of the offending tenants moves out mcch will take the opportunity to eliminate this hazard and consider the legitimate rights of non-smokers.

We trust that this letter will be of assistance to you in improving the conditions at 7 Thirlmere Close.

More on the problems with David's residence......

We have reported that strangers often call to the house asking to see one of the other occupants. This same individual has since told me that he takes drugs. I do not know if the two are connected.
I have also seen tablets strewn about on the lounge table amongst all the other rubbish. I hope these are legitimate medications and not something more sinister.

It is worth noting that since moving in during May David has not once used the kitchen because of the filth and mess. The washing machine is not very clean and always full of someone else's dirty cloths so we have to do his washing.

Two days ago we noticed that the payphone in the hall had been stolen. The back door key is still missing so the door is permanently left unlocked. Despite attempts by David to lock the side gate it is repeatedly forced apart and left wide open. There is no security at all. We have started to remove some of Davids belongings from the house to prevent it from being stolen.