Our son broke the law because he was sick. Maine’s mental health system made that inevitable.

He lives with schizoaffective disorder and anosognosia, a brain-based condition that prevents him from knowing he is ill. The cycle was predictable. His symptoms worsened. He acted on delusions. Police responded. He was arrested, jailed, hospitalized, stabilized and discharged with no plan. 

Three psychiatric stays at Maine General Medical Center. Five months at Riverview Psychiatric Center. Three jail stints. Three years of public defenders and mental health court. Total documented cost to Maine taxpayers: more than $330,000. Every dollar was avoidable.

Maine law, Title 34-B of our state statutes, requires that someone pose an imminent danger before the state can step in. For a man whose illness tells him he is not sick, imminent danger meant breaking the law. There is no outpatient safety net. No early intervention. Just waiting for the next crisis.

We know what works. Maine’s own data shows that Assisted Outpatient Treatment reduces psychiatric hospitalizations by 45% and cuts Riverview readmissions by 60%. The tools exist. The law prevents us from using them in time.

I urge Maine legislators to modernize Title 34-B, expand Assisted Outpatient Treatment and build the outpatient support system that keeps sick people out of jail.

Maine must move from the right to be sick to the right to be well. 

Bobbi McCarthy, DNP, RN
Assistant Professor of Nursing, University of Maine Augusta
Belgrade