Calling Adult Protective Services for self-neglect?

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My dad has suggested that I call Adult Protective Services for myself. I'm guessing the complaint would be self-neglect.

Nevertheless, wouldn't that be weird? To make a call and say that you are engaging in self-neglect? Don't people who engage in self-neglect have zero insight into their condition?

What seems to be the problem?

I just looked up this website for LA - seems like it would be worth giving them a call?

http://css.lacounty.gov/programs/adult- ... vices-aps/

When it comes to mental disabilities (or aging for that matter), it's definitely possible for a person to be aware that they are not doing well, and failing to take care of their basic needs. So I would think APS would understand that, and accept a self-reported case, especially someone who has no family or friends in the area. At any rate they could hopefully point you toward the correct place to call, if this isn't it.

You're doing the right thing to reach out for help - take care of yourself!

beneficii, by your own admission you aren't doing very well. This California thing turned out to be harder than you expected, and you are struggling.

I think once you have some stability and basic survival needs met, you can work on your other, "higher order" needs (in the Maslovian sense).

Take care.

Edited to add: follow through on your dad's suggestion, but the other option is to walk into an emergency room and say you just can't take care of yourself (with examples ready). Then don't shoot down every suggestion those providers make, please.

I wish I really had a more "personal" knowledge of your situation.

Maybe you're not in as dire straits as you present yourself. I don't know. I don't believe you are misrepresenting yourself. I just believe this might be a sort of "you're your own worst enemy" sort of situation.

I would report "self-neglect" only as a last resort. There are good people within the mental health system; but there are cynical people, too.

There must be other solutions to your dilemma. I believe, at least partially, that you have put yourself in a bind.

There's a strong side of me which believes you could break out of your bind, no matter how slowly your progress seems while you are "breaking out."

My impression is that there is a considerable component of you which remains quite intact.

I don't know what there is in California, but here in Virginia you can call 411 and they tell you what services you can access for free. There is also a free, walk-in mental health place where they will give you lists of different places to call to help you with different things. We have some faith-based organizations where a social worker-type person will come to your house and try to sort out what's going on and connect you with what you need.

I would just start calling a general services place and say you're having some trouble taking care of yourself and who can you call for options.

I'm really concerned about beneficii. She apparently bailed out of a reasonably ok situation to drive to California in the hope that she could get her gender reassignment surgery easier. Now not only does she not have any way to get her surgery, she's living in a car in Fairfield, which doesn't have many resources for the homeless, and she's doing things that might get her in trouble, like running red lights because she's distracted. In CA the average red light fine is something like $1000 when you tack on all the fees. I know that Sacramento has more resources for the homeless, like Loaves and Fishes, but if she came here to Sacto she'd be constantly harassed by the cops. If she wants to drive here (it's like 50 miles from Fairfield) I can give her directions to get to the L&F complex.

Have you considered going back home since CA is not working out?

You really seem like a nice person.

I wish I could help you better.

Perhaps you should go back home to your family.

I don't have a home to go back to.

I have a grandma in Fairfield and an uncle in Antelope. Unfortunately, neither will take me in.

I am in Sacramento. I go to Fairfield only to visit my grandma, who is not taking me in. The situation I left in Memphis was one where I no longer had the money to keep up my rent and my parents had moved away, leaving me no other connection to the city.

I've already gone to Loaves and Fishes for the housing, but nothing I found was useful.

I would guess that you've done this already--but have you put yourself on some sort of waiting list for something like public housing?

Sometimes, if the "wait" is only a few months, you will find that time does fly quickly.

Getting back to the topic of this thread... maybe you should call Adult Protective Services. You don't seem to be making connections for yourself, and we're worried about both your physical and your mental health.

I'm going to try to walk-in to see a psychiatrist tomorrow. After that, we will see.

Please tell us how it goes!