Please bare with me on this long post but I’m being called to share. ❤️ My name is Devyn Allison and I’ve been supporting my loved one for the past 9 months suffering a bipolar manic episode that has left him with nothing to his name. I would like to give him the support he truly deserves for a fresh start to let him know that he is not alone.

The mental health care system in California is broken. I normally don’t make posts like this but people need to know what’s going on in this State. The suffering occurring due to this systems infrastructure is blatant torture of an already inherently vulnerable population.

A dear family member of mine (Out of respect for their privacy I will not disclose who) has been diagnosed manic bipolar for 13 years now. In that 13 year span he’s had 3 major episodes that required an intervention placing him in psych wards for about a month each time. This happened twice in Arizona and once in Florida. Upon receiving treatment he has been able to fully recover and go back to living a very successful and fulfilling life. After his last episode he decided to move to California to be closer to me so I could help prevent another.

Present moment this person has been in his 4th major manic episode that has lasted 9 months and still counting. California has a law known as the LPS act of 1967 that limits involuntary detention of all but the most gravely disabled. This unjust law caused him the loss of his career, his girlfriend, his dog, his apartment, his life’s savings, his retirement, his investments…EVERYTHING. I want you to imagine for a moment this happening to you or one of your loved ones.

He has been living homeless on the streets of LA, unaware of what has happened to him. This is the nature of a manic episode as they suffer uncontrollable spending habits, Grandiose ideas, and severe delusions. The longer an episode is allowed to go the more damaging it becomes and the harder it is for recovery. 9 MONTHS now. The horror a family member faces watching someone they love suffer is nothing compared to the horror that person will experience should they ever rise above it and see what has happened to their life.

I have driven back and forth to LA every week for the past 6 months trying to find a solution. I have begged police officers, firefighters, crisis units, and doctors to please help save this persons life and get him the help he needs. He suffers from a mental illness and would never choose this for himself. Each time I was told “Without his CONSENT” no one can help or intervene. ITS THE LAW. From that point on I knew the only way to save my loved one was to get him out of the state. Up until yesterday I couldn’t convince him to leave.

Yesterday I got the scariest phone call of my life from this person begging and sobbing and screaming out of desperation for the torture to end. Why won’t it end. He had no awareness or comprehension that he has been living in a manic episode for the past 9 months.

In his moment of despair he asked me to get him on a flight out of LA to Florida.

He landed in Florida at 10pm…by midnight we had him in an inpatient mental facility. This fight is not over for him. He has a long road to recovery. Not only did he lose his mind, but he lost everything he has ever worked for in his entire life.

This all could’ve been prevented if California had a functioning mental health program. How many people and families have to suffer. How many people in California have lost their loved one due to suicide because they couldn’t get the help they needed because they don’t fit the “gravely disabled” criteria to be committed. This needs to be properly addressed.

Despite the past 9 months of hell I can finally breathe because I know my loved one is in a state that believes in caring for this vulnerable population. If you have a loved one that suffers from a mental illness I would advise relocating them out of this state before you find yourself in a similar situation. Until more people start speaking out, It’s your loved ones life vs a state Law and you know the outcome in that.

Thank you for listening and being a part of this fund, whether you donate a dollar or simply show compassion towards the next person you see that may be struggling, we are eternally grateful for the part you have played