A Mother Helped Others
Even When She Couldn't Help Her Son

Getting help for schizophrenic son eludes local NAMI president

(Jan. 4, 2004) - Helen Greggans had some good news in October: Her son was in San Mateo General Hospital in California.

After two years on the streets, her 38-year-old son, who has suffered from schizophrenia for nearly 20 years, was finally back in the mental health system. Today, he lives in Belmont and sees a psychiatrist regularly. He is thinking about getting a job.

Greggans, who is president of the local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has helped others get treatment for their loved ones, but helping her schizophrenic son had eluded her for years.

He simply did not think he was sick. And she had no legal recourse to force him into treatment. That is why NAMI has lobbied for Laura's Law, a 2000 state law that allows a court to order treatment for the mentally ill.

Like the typical person Laura's Law is meant to target, Greggans' son had been in and out of hospitals and jails over the years.

Greggans is not sure why he was taken into the hospital in October, except that he was acting crazy. And he probably would have been released back on the street if she hadn't intervened. She rushed to the hospital with her son's medical records and convinced the staff to keep him there.

To help get through the difficult times, Greggans joined the San Mateo County Chapter of NAMI eight years ago. It was the first affiliate in the nation when it began almost 30 years ago.

The group offers support to the mentally ill and their families and lobbies for better care. Through NAMI, Greggans has fought for more rights for family members and more authority to get the mentally ill treated. She said this means giving the courts authority to order the mentally ill into treatment. It means better coordination between police and social workers, psychiatrists and family members.

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Greggans said her son, the middle child, was always shy. But at 19 -- when he first became depressed -- she took him to the family doctor. An example of the ignorance of the time, the doctor told him to start jogging to deal with his depression. Soon, he began hearing voices. Eventually, he recovered enough to get a job as a seaman, but trouble started again when he was in Hawaii and accosted a woman he thought was pushing him. He served time in jail and a judge ordered him into a half-way-house, where he took medication and seemed to improve.

But after returning to California, he deteriorated again and was soon out on the streets. Greggans said she has felt frustration over the years at her inability to force her son into treatment.

Under her tenure as president, NAMI worked with San Mateo County to launch a Web site last month that offers information, in many languages, on County services, insurance, legal issues, support groups and research. Families or individuals can set up personal folders to store records online.

Greggans said that because young people are online, she hopes they will turn to this resource.

She said she wants to save others from going through the suffering her son has endured.

"I never thought I'd live to see this day," she said. "For the first time in 18 years, my son admitted he has a disability."

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