Mental illness is an unpredictable condition with many diagnoses and symptoms which are difficult for families to understand. The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation reports that the most common mental illnesses are anxiety disorders, mood disorders and schizophrenia disorders. People with mental illness often communicate poorly, retreat from family and friends and sometimes disappear into treatment systems or homelessness. Family members search for their loved ones, hoping to return them to their homes or treatment or just to reconnect and find assurance that their family member is safe.
Step 1
Contact family members and friends and medical and mental health providers to gather information about the last time your mentally ill relative was seen and by whom. Find out what his or her mental state was when last seen, how they were dressed and whether anyone has ideas about where they might have gone.
Ask family and friends to help with your efforts to locate your relative so you can share the work and receive emotional support.
Step 2
Notify the police department that your mentally ill relative is missing. In the U.S. the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) suggests that if your relative is missing for more than three days, you request that the police post your relative's name on the FBI's computer listing of missing persons as an endangered adult.
Step 3
Create a one-page flyer that includes a photo of your missing relative. Include vital statistics--age, hair and eye color, height and weight--and clothing and where he or she was last seen. Make enough copies to distribute throughout your community and keep a few to carry with you.
Set up a special telephone number and email address for inclusion on flyers and in announcements. This measure provides you with privacy and safety.
Step 4
Distribute your missing person flyer to places in the community where your relative was last located. Take your flyers to churches and other places of worship, many of which functions as shelters or soup kitchens for the homeless. According to NAMI, many mentally ill people return to their childhood place of worship.
Distribute your flyer to the local NAMI office. NAMI provides links to local offices on its website. Hand out and post your flyer at colleges, especially near lounges and cafeterias. Place the flyers in libraries, where many homeless people go while shelters are closed during the day.
Step 5
Contact community health centers, free clinics, the public health department and other clinics that treat the indigent and people without health insurance. According to NAMI, many mentally ill people go to emergency rooms for medical care.
Step 6
Contact organizations where people might come into contact with or know the whereabouts of your relative. NAMI suggests calling or visiting creditors, hospitals, free meal sites, homeless shelters and social security offices. Contact places like the Salvation Army, county social services agencies and nonprofit organizations that help the homeless. When you visit these places, take your flyers, a copy of your police report and proof that you are a relative. Some places may refuse to talk about your relative because of confidentiality laws.
Step 7
Seek support and assistance from nonprofit organizations, especially online groups, that are experienced and knowledgeable in locating the missing mentally ill. Outposts for Hope is a national organization that helps families find lost relatives, provides a resource guide for the families of the missing mentally ill, and provides information on how to handle reunification with your family member. The National Center for Missing Adults, a clearinghouse of information on the missing, provides resources and will allow you to register your missing relative on its website.
Step 8
Check periodically with all of the places you have contacted or where you have placed flyers. You might have to replace flyers over time.
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- photograph
- file folders
- push pins
- envelopes
- postage stamps
References
- Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation: What is Psychiatric Disability and Mental Illness?
- National Alliance on Mental Illness: Persons with Mental Illness who are Homeless or Missing
- National Alliance on Mental Illness: Missing Persons Support
- Outpost for Hope: Missing with Mental Illness-Unreported and Lost on the Streets
- National Center for Missing Adults: About the National Center for Missing Adults and Let's Bring Them Home
