I’ve established myself as an advocate of getting people off
of long-term disability. Too many people
with mental illness are discouraged from living at their most productive
potential by a method of assistance that condemns them to living within a
system that doles out subsistence while imprisoning them in a life where the
guarantee of a monthly check prohibits the risk and reward of work. There are many incentives to stay on
assistance, and many stigmas and barriers to stepping out and being fully
responsible for one’s present and future.
I also believe that if some organization is paying one’s bills, then
that organization has every right to demand certain behavior of the payee. Things like medication compliance, lifestyle
practices, and the need to contribute in every way possible through
volunteering, part-time work, etc. should be expected of the person being
supported by someone else. One is free
to neglect treatment and engage in dangerous behavior. One is also free to make no effort to pay a
portion of one’s expenses. This person,
however, should not expect a public entity to support such irresponsibility and
squandering of others' contributions, either through charity, insurance, or
tax-based transfer programs. The benefit
of work on treatment outcomes is well established, and the legal structure
exists to enable the challenged person to work with accommodations. So to be very blunt, comply and try or expect
no assistance.
This insistence must be tempered by the fact that some
people are unable to work. Just as
society should provide opportunities for people to get off assistance, society
has the obligation to take care of the most difficult cases. In no way should people so sick they cannot
function independently be left to suffer in a society that has resources to
provide them with a comfortable and safe lifestyle. But again, treatment compliance should be
mandatory.
The people with diagnoses who require assistance can place
demands on the system that supports them
as well. The biggest demands we can make
are for compassion and understanding.
Society must not stray too far into the idea of individual
responsibility that it maintains that every person is fully responsible for his
own challenges. Unexpected things
happen, and few get well without help.
No one with a mental illness chooses to be sick. Those who overcome the difficulty of living
with mental illness and find success should be celebrated. But so should every person who even tries,
whether they fail or succeed. For these
people a safety net seems fair, just, and moral.
This compassion seems to be slipping from society. Dignity and respect are afforded less and
less to people who need help. The left
seems willing to sit with a system of “pay and go away.” The right is so enamored with liberty and
dictating morality that anyone who is different and needs a hand is viewed
negatively. In previous economic downturns
assistance was given enthusiastically to those who lost and were trying to
recover. This did not happen in the last
recession and it hasn’t happened since.
In fact, in many cases those who are less fortunate have been demonized
and asked to suffer for mistakes and choices they made with a mind that did not
function normally, or for actions that were taken in desperation. Forgiveness and second chances are rare.
So the onus of recovery is on both sides. Effort on the side of the challenged, and
opportunity on the side of the advantaged.
Instead of mindlessly paying out benefits to those who can qualify, why
not give incentives to doctors, treatment centers, and job training programs
which move people off of disability and into self-sufficient society? The person home and unable to work should not
be blamed. But their situation should
rarely be accepted as permanent either.
All can contribute, and all can improve their own outcome and society’s.
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