Hospitals Not Prisons

Imagine not eating or drinking for weeks on end because the "bugs" keep telling you that you do not have a stomach, imagine thinking the Devil is coming for you and has told you to just give up, imagine being afraid to enter your own home because the "bugs" are everywhere and won't leave you alone, imagine brushing your teeth for hours at a time until they bleed because that is the only way to make them healthy, imagine being terrified of your own mother because you think aliens have taken her away and replaced her with a look alike alien, imagine nailing the windows shut in your home because "they" are after you, imagine becoming aware of your surroundings after being missing for three days, having no clue where you are or how you got there; to find out you've walked to a town that is over a three hour drive away from where you started. These are just a few of the recurring nightmares Travis has been facing.

Travis Herr is a 24 year old that has been battling schizophrenia since he was 17. He has been consistently in and out of mental hospitals since he was 19. Due to funding cutbacks, the hospitals have been unable to provide any long term or stable help. Travis has been unable to lead any resemblance of a normal life.

In October 2014 after being released from yet another stay from a mental hospital he began having paranoid delusions that something was repeatedly breaking into his home to hurt him. He found inherited guns that had been in a locked room and began shooting at an unseen entity. Police were called and the end result was Travis being shot five times. Once in his lung, (which collapsed and filled with fluid mutiple times) one in the chest, twice in his right thigh and once in his left leg. The bone was shattered and had to be operated on. he will most likely need a cane the rest of his life. (Luckily, no one else was hurt)This has become a frequent story in the world of schizophrenics. Mutliple doctors told the family that Travis was a danger to himself and others and that he needed to be in a mental facility but that by law they could keep him no longer. They told the family many times to not let him live with family. When asked for alternatives for help and medical care the Mental health specialists had no answer. Their only response was we wish we had an answer  for you, this is one reason why the homeless situation is so bad. The family took turns caring for him as best as they could. The medical world has let Travis down and now the legal system is as well. Travis currently has a public defender representing him. According to the Public Defender, the Detectives in the case have buried all of Travis's mental history and have requested that the D.A. charge him with 7 counts of attempted homicide against police. They are asking for a minimum of 35 years in a prison and all of his mental health history is being swept under a rug. He is also not under a Doctors care while in the prison. He is currently awaiting trial in Twin Towers in Los Angeles. It is known for constantly being under investigation for it's treatment and lack of care of it's mentally ill inmates.(it's sadly nicknamed the largest mental hospital in the U.S.). This is a young man who before his illness took control, was funny, kind, giving and full of life. This is a young man that needs to be in a mental hospital getting the care he needs so he can have an attempt at some kind of a life, not spending the rest of it in jail due to an illness he cannot control without medical help.

click on the link here to listen to the true story of a family that went thru almost the exact same thing with their son. There is hope, but we need your help.  The father in the story states that a jury member told him personally that the fact the family was in court everytime, helped them see the defendant as a human in need of help. http://www.wnyc.org/story/a-fathers-story--then-and-now/

Travis has multiple court dates coming up inTorrrance California. His family lives in Austin Texas and need help flying out to Los Angeles for his multiple court proceedings.  It has been proven that family presence in court does help in cases like this. Travis needs all the support he can get. Assistance  paying for a lawyer who specializes with mental health patients is also a dire need. Schizophrenics need help, support, and psychiatric care, they do not need to be thrown in jail where not only will they not get suitable psychiatric care, but where they are in constant danger from other inmates. The fact that a prison is nicknamed the largest mental hospital in the country is sickening. We need to fix the mental health system in this country, so that people like Travis get the attention and assistance they need, rather than being tossed around like worthless garbage.

The family's immediate and long term needs & goals:
travel expenses from Austin Texas to Los Angeles California so his mother can be there for him during the trial.
retain a lawyer that specializes in mental health. (If anyone is interested in helping assist with this case please contact us by all means!)
The goal is to get Travis committed not to a prison, but to a long term care mental facility where he can actually get some help.
Goals:
To get the courts to recognize Travis as incompetenet to stand trial & have him moved to a long term mental health care facility. 
Start or aid a family support group for families of schizophrenics. Especially the numerous ones that have dealt with injuries to their mentally ill loved ones at the hands of police.
Create a non profit, Hospitals Not Prisons, to help push Mental health reform so families can better help thier loved ones in crisis.
Help push Reform in how police handle mentally ill in all situations.

Please share this with everyone you know and help us support a young man and his family so they can have a chance against a system that prefers to lock up and forget our mentally ill.

Also, please help support this cause by sharing this link and buying the shirts to show your support of a great cause. https://teespring.com/hospitalsnotprisons
www.facebook.com/raisingschizophrenicawareness  

Thank you!