Many people that are living with a mental health condition don't know or don't believe they are mentally ill. This is the result of a condition known as anosognosia that often accompanies a serious mental illness. Essentially, the person lacks insight to their illness. We have an opportunity to amend Colorado law that governs the rights of respondents. In the early 19th century the answer to mental illness was to commit a person to an asylum and throw away the key. We have rightfully moved away from those practices. Today, our personal rights have swung the pendulum in the opposite direction. There are thousands of people in CO impacted by mental illness; however, our law as currently written prohibits family, friends, law enforcement, and even crisis response teams from helping a person with a serious mental illness.

27-65-105. Rights of respondents. Unless specifically stated in an order by the court, a

respondent does not forfeit any legal right or suffer legal disability by reason of the provisions of this article 65.

CRS 27-65 governs the rights of people as they pertain to mental health. We need to amend this statute to permit a family, friends, crisis response, and/or law enforcement to review reasonable evidence that a person is suffering from a mental illness.

If you are still reading the excerpt below is from a letter I felt compelled to write to my neighbors on the Next Door app. One of my neighbors posted concerns about a young man that was seen loitering on the sidewalks in our neighborhood. Law enforcement took a report and advised my neighbor to have other neighbors report every time they saw the individual standing out on the sidewalk. The tenor of the post was concerning to me and I knew I needed to speak up on my sons behalf. I believe we can effect change for people like my son living with a mental illness and I believe we can help them get help, because there is not a viable alternative solution.

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Dear Neighbors,

A shared neighbor alerted me to this post on Nextdoor. I know the gentleman in the picture. He is my son. Before I go any further, I would like to personally apologize to you if he has made you or your family feel uncomfortable, afraid, or nervous. I sincerely mean this. Please allow me to explain.

About 2 years ago Macario (Mack) began experiencing mental health issues. Sixty six percent of mental illness begins by age 24 according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). My son is in his mid-twenties. Based on my wife’s and my experience we believe our son is experiencing anosognosia. This is a neurological condition in which the patient is unaware of their neurological deficit or psychiatric condition. In layman’s terms it means the person lacks insight or awareness of their illness. Consider this, a friend or relative comes to you and says I need you to take Insulin for Diabetes and you are not a diabetic. You and I would likely tell them to get lost.

Before mental illness took hold of my son, he graduated 16th in his high school class from an International Baccalaureate (IB) program with honors. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in data analytics from Arizona State University. After college he went on to earn a position working for a national aerospace firm. He was a kind, gentle, respectable young man with a very bright future ahead of him.

I still believe my son is a kind, gentle young man. Unfortunately, this is masked behind a mental illness that presents as aggressive and unpredictable. Mental illness changes people. They look frightening and aggressive and today our news cycle blames the ills of society on the mentally ill. Just like you and I, people suffering from a mental illness consist of a broad spectrum. Yes, there are those that are severely ill and may commit an aggressive act against another person. However, the truth is that people with a mental illness are more likely to have an act of violence committed against them versus them committing an act of violence against someone (NIH, 2023). The reason may be that they simply make us fear. When people with mental illness commit violent acts, they often are connected to drug and alcohol abuse, and the individual often has a history of violence such as child abuse or violence in their home. I can assure you that is not the case with my son. I personally have made certain that he does not have access to drugs and alcohol and our family is about as normal as they come.

I’m a healthcare professional and my wife is also. We both have advanced degrees in healthcare. We have a combined 50+ years working in healthcare, and I can tell you that we never thought we’d learn so much about mental health. We have 3 other children, one is a teacher, one is an EMT, and our youngest will be studying biology soon at CSU. I can also tell you that we absolutely understand how our son makes you feel when he is standing on the sidewalk and appears to be staring at your home, your family, or your possessions. We felt the same way in our own home. I can also tell you that after 2 years I now believe my son is harmless. The person he used to be is locked inside of a mind that is being told you’re different, you’re sick, you’re creepy, you’re acting weird, and all the while they think they are perfectly normal.

In case you are wondering as healthcare professionals my wife and I have done and will continue to do everything we can to help our son get back to where he once was. We have:

- had the Colorado Springs Police Department Crisis Team come out to our house on several occasions in hopes we could use their help to convince or even persuade our son to receive treatment for his condition.

- We’ve spoken to family law attorneys in hopes of doing something legal to persuade our son into treatment.

- We’ve spoken to mental illness professionals at NAMI, NAMI Law Line, and in the Colorado Springs community to explore and understand options for helping our son with this illness.

The reality in Colorado and most of the US is that a person cannot be forced into treatment for mental illness unless they are a harm to themselves or others. In other words, the person needs to say and you must have evidence showing they want to hurt themselves or someone else. The other option is for the person to commit an act of violence against themselves or others.

The consensus from law enforcement officers we’ve interacted with is that they cannot do anything unless my son hurts someone or agrees to get help on his own. It is either that or I should evict my son and make him one of Colorado Springs unhoused people. Again, I’m sorry but this is not something we can do. We would not do that with a loved one suffering from cancer.

I know I’ve shared a lot and perhaps too much. If you are still reading this, then I say to you that I will be working with local leaders to change our laws. I learned why the law is weighed so heavily in favor of our individual rights. At one time our society would put people with mental illness in sanitoriums and throw away the key. We’ve swung from one extreme to another. My hope is that we can find a middle ground, so people do not need to fear the unknown.

If my son does anything towards you or your family, please do not hesitate to contact me via Nextdoor. I will gladly share my information with you, and we could meet for coffee to discuss and figure out how I can make it right.

Sincerely,

Filiberto Gurrola

P.S. I have and will continue to talk to my son about not standing out on the sidewalk in front of your homes and staring off into the distance. I realize this is a scary behavior and I’m working to make him aware as well.