Bipolar nephew - How can I help????

I can only speak from experience as the parent of a kid (now mid 30's) with bipolar 1, the more severe kind, with "psychotic features," mania and depression.

First, the most obvious thing is that he had to have health insurance. Care is very different for those without insurance (actually private pay patients get alarmingly better care). Find out how to get on health insurance in each state. In my state, MA, every hospital has an office that will sign you up that day. In some states, insurance agents handle it. Online Medicaid sign up may be impossible for him: he needs help. Clearly he would qualify for Medicaid. I am surprised that shelter staff have not addressed his need for insurance.

My kid is doing well 15 years after diagnosis. Lithium and Lexapro combo have been a godsend but of course we went through other med options to get there. A good hospital program should put him on Lithium and an anti-depressant. Shock treatment is gentler than it used to but of course he needs insurance.

Housing in general and community homes specifically are hard to come by but if he has any access to social workers in shelters, they can help to some extent, but he has to be on meds and more stable.

There isn't much you can do from Paris. It sounds like the parents went to NAMI of Al-Anon and are practicing detachment to save themselves. No judgment at all. It is a balance for everyone. If he could get on health insurance, I think detachment might be appropriate in some cases, but I fear for anyone with bipolar 1 who does not have insurance. How does he pay for med?

Many patients resist meds or go off meds or go on and off but meds are actually the only way to stay stable. This is a brain disorder, not an emotional problem. And he needs to be able to pay for meds.

I have read many books. It may sound unlikely but Bipolar for Dummies was one of the best. One thing you can do is educate yourself. This is a disease like any other, very similar to epilepsy. In fact my father had both.

Hello @hark123,

I admire your desire to help your nephew while living in another country. Your feeling of concern from such a physical distance certainly can create a sense of helplessness. I'm sure your nephew appreciates you as well as he had the facility contact you. Here is the website to a resource that might be of help to you.:

My Help Navigator: https://myhelpnavigator.auntbertha.com/

My Help Navigator is a social care network that connects people and programs, making it easier for people to find social services in their communities.

Also, have you considered contacting a hospital social worker in the hospital where he is currently receiving treatment?

I hope to hear from you again. Will you post an update as you are able?

@hark123 This is a very difficult situation that you find yourself in and I can tell how much care about and love your nephew. If I'm doing the math correctly I figure your nephew is in his 30's now. Is that accurate?

In all likelihood your nephew is Medicaid-eligible. I am hoping that since he is currently in a hospital facility that the unit's social workers have helped him with Medicaid. In my experience many people who have serious mental health disorders who are homeless are also without medical insurance. I am in Michigan and so I know that your nephew would be able to have state Medicaid that would cover his treatment, meds, and ECT. Since Florida administers their own Medicaid I do not know what is covered and what is not covered.

@windyshores has offered some excellent advice. Your nephew has already indicated you as a contact for him. Since you have already talked with the hospital personnel he also must have signed a Release of Information for you to talk with his medical providers. This would include the social workers at the medical facility. The best I think you can do from such a distance is to talk with the social workers. While a group home could be a good plan for your nephew it often takes a lot of research and work to locate an agency that would provide such a group home. And then you can ask yourself - would my nephew want that? Can you talk with your nephew and ask what he wants to do? And would he actually stay there and take his meds as prescribed?

Will you please come back and post an update?

Windyshores, thanks for that - all really well thought out advice. I have no idea of his medical history other than stories I have heard of psychotic episodes in the past, no idea of the meds and no idea why he doesn't have issurance - nor why he hasn't or if he hasn't been guided in getting it in the past. You have provided me with a variety of questions to ask his current medical team - they were, as I have found medical teams dealing with really tough situations - really fantastic. But I still have a lot to learn, about Joe's situation and about bipolar situations. And then we will see if I can help in any way.

Thanks for the link, I will have to look up My Help Navigator - and yes, the social worker was in the group I talked with. But it was an initial call, and I will have to get more info, based on the earlier post as well. I will try to remember to update, although this is probably a long term story.

@naturegirl5 Also a big thank you for the advice. This is a world I know NOTHING about, so it is quite helpful. I also am quite happy to have been outside the American medical insurance system for these many years - it seems to me care for somebody in these circumstances shouldn't depend on whether they filled out the right forms. But in any case, it seems from your comments and others, I need to continue talking with the social worker who first reached out. Thanks again.

First priority is getting insurance! Medicaid seems more than likely.

I should add that I worked for quite a few years in the largest homeless shelter in Boston. I am not sure what it is like in Florida but the shelter staff where I worked were dedicated and all had master's in social work. There was also a nursing clinic and liaison to MD's, psychiatry and inpatient treatment when desired by the guest.

@windyshores - could you tell me, what was the name of the shelter in Boston, out of curiousity.