You’ve
probably
read the
news
reports:
“A man
who shot
an
assault
rifle at
the
White
House is
one of
only a
handful
of
people
ever
accused
of
trying
to
assassinate
the
president,
and if
the past
is any
guide he
could
spend
many
years in
prison
or a
mental
hospital
if
convicted,”
says an
article
in the
November
21
Washington
Post.
According
to Fox
News,
“Authorities
are
investigating
the
man's
mental
health
and say
there
are
indications
he
believed
attacking
the
White
House
was
part of
a
personal
mission
from
God,
according
to a law
enforcement
official
who
spoke
with The
Associated
Press.”
The New
York
Times
quotes
Dr. E.
Fuller
Torrey,
of the
Treatment
Advocacy
Center
in
Arlington,
VA, that
the
White
House
attracts
many
with
mental
illnesses,
though
it’s
rare
that
someone
goes so
far as
to fire
off a
gun.
His
mother
was not
even
aware
that her
son had
a class
case of
schizophrenia.
According
to the
NAMI web
site:
Schizophrenia
is a
serious
mental
illness
that
affects
2.4
million
American
adults
over the
age of
18.
Although
it
affects
men and
women
with
equal
frequency,
schizophrenia
most
often
appears
in men
in their
late
teens or
early
twenties,
while it
appears
in women
in their
late
twenties
or early
thirties.
Finding
the
causes
for
schizophrenia
proves
to be
difficult
as the
cause
and
course
of the
illness
is
unique
for each
person.
Interfering
with a
person's
ability
to think
clearly,
manage
emotions,
make
decisions
and
relate
to
others,
schizophrenia
impairs
a
person's
ability
to
function
to their
potential
when it
is not
treated.
Unfortunately,
no
single,
simple
course
of
treatment
exists.
Research
has
linked
schizophrenia
to a
multitude
of
possible
causes,
including
aspects
of brain
chemistry
and
structure,
as well
as
environmental
causes.
Because
the
illness
may
cause
unusual,
inappropriate
and
sometimes
unpredictable
and
disorganized
behavior,
people
who are
not
effectively
treated
are
often
shunned
and the
targets
of
social
prejudice.
The
apparent
erratic
behavior
is often
caused
by the
delusions
and
hallucinations
that are
symptoms
of
schizophrenia.
Along
with
medication,
psychosocial
rehabilitation
and
other
community-based
support
can help
those
with
schizophrenia
go on to
lead
meaningful
and
satisfying
lives. A
lack of
appropriate
services
devoted
to
individuals
living
with
schizophrenia
has left
many
improperly
placed
in jails
and
prisons
without
the help
they
need.
Led
primarily
by real
people
living
with
schizophrenia,
there is
a
changing
assumption
on what
is
possible
for
those
living
with the
illness.
Long
viewed
as an
incurable
illness,
new data
suggests
that as
many as
50
percent
of
people
diagnosed
with
schizophrenia
have
positive
outcomes
when
they
receive
appropriate
treatment.
With new
research
and
expanding
knowledge
for the
causes
of
schizophrenia,
the
outlook
for
those
living
with
schizophrenia
continues
to
improve.
While
nobody
can
condone
shooting
at the
White
House,
we hope
that
Oscar
Ramiro
Ortega-Hernandez
gets the
mental
health
treatment
that he
needs
and if
he
becomes
well
under
medication
is one
day
released
rather
than
having
to spend
the rest
of his
life in
prison
due to
an
organic
brain
disorder
that
can be
treated..
NAMI
believes
that
persons
who have
committed
offenses
due to
states
of mind
or
behavior
caused
by a
serious
mental
illness
do not
belong
in penal
or
correctional
institutions.
Such
persons
require
treatment,
not
punishment.
A prison
or jail
is never
an
optimal
therapeutic
setting.
