The real tragedy is that there were so many people that knew she had a problem...but everyone is helpless BEFORE an event.
Very true. I think anyone with a relative with mental illness knows the sense of helplessness.
That needs to be repeated. I knew very well a very disturbed young man that turned to alcohol and drugs to self medicate for mental illness. He became violent one day- throwing things out of the house and setting them on fire. His sister is a nurse in a hospital and got him admitted so he could get help. As soon as his mind cleared a bit he simply checked himself out before he could even be evaluated. He killed himself less than 6 months later and thank the Lord he took no one else with him. His family tried everything and even law enforcement was involved, but it is nearly impossible to get help for mental illness in this country. We are far more concerned with Civil Rights of the mentally ill than the safety of the people they encounter. We are even more concerned with their rights than we are their safety. We see that in spades with the firearms issues, we have a definite mental illness issue in this country that we are choosing to ignore.