owl Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 A good friend of mine the other side of Dronfield has been latched on to by a very disturbed lady living near her who has schizophrenia. My friend is kind and tolerant and has been prepared to spend a bit of time with her, but has now had 3 years of harrassment and is cracking up. She can't sit in her back garden without being hassled, her car has been scratched up, she can't go on holiday because disturbed lady climbs into her garden. Another lady on the same estate has been beaten up by this same person and everyone is afraid of her. The police have received many complaints about aggressive, threatening and violent behaviour but won't arrest her because of her mental illness as they say they would never get a conviction. My friend could move, the council would give her somewhere in another area, but she doesn't see why she should have to flee. But I am worried because having this woman banging on her window at all hours for attention is making her ill. It's even worse - the disturbed woman makes abusive phone calls claiming to be my friend and starts all kind of trouble that way. She has a whole lot of neglected cats and kittens which are breeding like mad, and we haven't managed to get any organisations to do anything. There does seem to be some kind of psychiatric social worker involved and we know his name and are trying to track him down. We don't know what GP practice she is with. Due to confidentiality it is hard for us to get hold of anyone dealing with her, but we know she is under treatment and quite probably the professionals concerned do not realise that she is generating a climate of fear in her village. Both the police and the council have repeatedly asked her to leave my friend alone and she just laughs and carries on. If anyone has any advice or suggestions as to what we can do we would be very grateful. I feel sorry for someone so disturbed but she should not be allowed to act in ways which would get anyone else arrested if they did it, and she should be banned from keeping animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smirnoff Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 I don't have any advice, Phoebe. I wish I did. Just wanted to say that my heart goes out to your friend because I know people who have suffered like this and have ended up moving to get some peace. Schizophrenia is just such a hard illness for everyone who comes into contact with it. If I think of anything, or any of my contacts come up with any ideas, I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loo Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 What a terrible situation to be in when your friend cannot even enjoy her own home. If this is making your friend ill perhaps a trip to her own GP - maybe a clinician would be able to give some advice on who to turn to in your local area without disclosing confidential information? Just a thought x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted August 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 It's a helpful thought, Loo. My friend is a cancer survivor and has osteoporosis, and is awaiting surgery for a wrist fracture which didn't mend right. It's possible that the GP may only be able to get her rehoused but worth a try. Because my friend is very energetic and doesn't complain about anything people may nto realise how vulnerable she is. If the disturbed lady knocks her down she is more likely than most to end up with a fracture. We have held off for a bit as disturbed lady was due to move yesterday. She had signed a contract with the council for a different house but the move has been postponed, probably because of hundreds of pounds back rent owed. She is unable to cope with money or be in charge of her own affairs. She texted my friend to say she would only be taking her dog and one cat and just abandoning the other cats and kittens in her garden, so we were standing by to round up the rest and try to find somewhere for them to go. That would have been trouble enough but less so than dealing with their owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 In my opinion the Police are shirking their responsibility. Even if there is no chance of a conviction, they could still speak to Social Services to find out who the case worker is and make them aware of the problem. I hope she moves pdq and your friend get some peace (and the cats a loving home). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantan Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 In my opinion the Police are shirking their responsibility. Even if there is no chance of a conviction, they could still speak to Social Services to find out who the case worker is and make them aware of the problem. I hope she moves pdq and your friend get some peace (and the cats a loving home). Mine too. I have a friend with mental health issues and there has been occasions where the police have been called (she is more a danger to herself than to anyone else) and the police have called in social services/medical help with the result that she has been sectioned. The police remained throughout the process and accompanied her to the specialist unit. Also someone could do with putting the problems she causes your friend down in writing and submitting it to the mental health section of social services. They cannot discuss the case with anyone else but at least they will have been informed and may just act on that information. Also with regard to the poor animals perhaps it's time to call the RSPCA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 I dont think she needs arresting but to receive better medical help by the sound of things. Perhaps someone like Mind could help? http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/schizophrenia I also agree about contacting the RSPCA if animals are both neglected and she's niow saying she'll just abandon them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 Phebe, until last summer there was a woman living over the road from me who was most definitely "odd"...she got her boyfriend to take all the internal doors off and chuck them into the back garden, no rubbish was ever put in the bin, again it went into the back garden. The final straw came for me when her son was outside in the cold, crying, and she left him there for ages then opened the door, screamed at him, and slammed it again. I phoned the social services dept and told them what she'd done, and social workers took him away. The council sent a lorry to clear her rubbish (59 sack fulls) and they've transferred her to another property and warned her if she misbehaves, she's out. I think the police really MUST do something other than just tick your friend's problem neighbour off...who knows how her behaviour could escalate? The majority of schizophrenics lead perfectly normal lives so long as they take their meds, the others...well...that teenage girl stabbed to death in a park, a man stabbed to death on his own front door, another man pushed to his death under a train...all done by schizophrenics. Are the police going to wait until she attacks your friend? I sincerely hope not. Just had a thought..have you got a library card? If so, there is a number you phone if you want to take your books out for longer, but when you ring it you get several options, one of them is to report concerns about a child, another about an adult. Might be worth a go on Monday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 In my opinion the Police are shirking their responsibility. They are, and so are social services. I have no end of problems getting any kind of help with people of this sort. A lot of the professionals hide behind "It's their choice", thus absolving themselves from blame. The problem with trying to refer to places is that often, they only accept referrals from GP's, bit tough if you don't know them, or worse still, they don't know the patient well enough and say they "have capacity!" Each and every incident should be reported to the police, so there's a record on file. If the lady is with the council, or a housing association, it should also be reported to them. (Keep trying if you don't get a good enough response). She will be in breach of her tenancy conditions by her anti social behaviour, and they should take action, which may involve contacting any next of kin, the police, or social services themselves. This person may not be taking their medication correctly, if at all, or might need a change of medication. There is Rethink as well as MIND, but the people with the power are the police and the mental health services. The other option is for your friend to go and get some help for herself because of this trauma, and then maybe, the support person can get to sort the other one out. Services seem very hot on safeguarding vulnerable adults these days, so if anyone could make a safeguarding case, someone has to look at it. We have had resident recently with Altzeimers, who was charged with assault, but the services didn't want to know. Our solicitor told us to refer to social services on ground 47, and now he has a mental health team working with him. Is it worth your friend getting advice about an injunction? Breaking this could mean highlighting the issues to the relevant people. the other thing to look for are the local mental health crisis team. I know how frustrating it is to get any action and can sympathise with a person actually living with the consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted August 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 (edited) Thanks Fugees for your helpful and well thought out advice. There have been a few more developments which should improve the situation, will update tomorrow as too tired right now. The RSPCA are aware of the situation re cats but we can't get them to do anything so far. The council know all about this lady and have had numerous complaints but say, as the police do, that they can't do anything. I think they are indeed avoiding their responsibilities. Part of the problem is that when she is not in the grip of an episode she appears normal. Edited August 4, 2012 by owl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 That's it Owl exactly, you can never seem to replicate the behaviour at a time that matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted August 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 (edited) We have made some progress with the disturbed lady who I will call M. My friend managed to get her to explain why she had not moved house when the removals men had been and gone, and it turned out they would not do any removals because every surface of every bit of furniture was covered in pictures and ornaments, and none of the hundreds of books had been packed. They are due to return next Friday and will move furniture provided everything else has been packed and moved. So I buzzed over there last night with a stack of crates, she did start packing and then we came back today accompanied by Lip, owner of Bones the husky, who offered to do heavy lifting. One van load and one estate load are now in new house and she has taken the crates back to refill. She was saying not to bother with the rest as the removals men or the police (!!) would do it but I think now she has the crates she will repack them. I just hope she can stay reasonably clear for the rest of the week and we can get the move done. I still want to make contact with the mental health services as they may think she is coping with the practicalities life and she can't. She needs qualified support on a regular basis. I did suggest earlier that my friend could get an injunction but she thought it would be no use as she would break it and the police would do nothing more than tell her off. Most of the cats are quite feral. The CPL say they are packed out and can't help but if the cats are left we are to call them and they can get the RSPCA to take them. Apart from the semi-feral bunch there are just the ancient cat from whom the rest are descended and a small dog, plus some kittens who are in a big crate. 2 of the kittens she says have homes but she is so untruthful that we don't know if that is true. At least we are getting to grips with the situation. Once M has moved she will be 20 miles away from my friend and she doesn't drive so can't go and plague her. M seems really nice when she isn't in the grip of the psychosis, but I know the trouble she has caused and am not deceived. She must be very well known to the social services because they took her 5 children away from her. Thanks for the tip about safeguarding vulnerable adults, definitely one to bear in mind. Edited August 5, 2012 by owl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 I did suggest earlier that my friend could get an injunction but she thought it would be no use as she would break it and the police would do nothing more than tell her off. It may seem futile, but it all builds up a documented history, along with the diary sheets and any other witnesses statements or complaints. Very tiresome for the people involved and suffering though. I hope she does finally move, but it's a shame the services aren't treating her problems, they will just go with her somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted August 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 The problems will indeed go with her, which is why I want to talk to someone involved in mental health care. Oh, and the dog, little jrt, is pregnant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Off to move another van load now, together with extra helpers. I think we have calmed down after yesterday! My friend rang to say that although she had told M not to visit yesterday as she had plumbers etc doing stuff and would be busy, M still came over all full of the news that she had called the council to report several neighbours for selling drugs from their premises and had said my friend also knows about these people and will back her up! She had made an appointment for a council representative to visit and take statements from both of them! It's actually a fairly quiet and crime-free estate ... apart from M herself. I hope we can get through this afternoon calmly and find out if any of the kittens are being homed because I don't think they are. If push comes to shove I may have to keep the little things in the biggest upstairs bedroom, but Wispa will go ballistic if we have cats in the house even if they live upstairs where she doesn't need to see or hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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