Mental Illness in Society: Can We Both Care and Protect?

Our community is reeling from a tragic incident that occurred last Friday night.   Air Force veteran Derek Henderson, 38, was killed the same night he was supposed to be taken to a VA hospital. Local law enforcement came to a home three times last Friday looking for Derek Henderson. But despite an emergency detention court order, the mentally troubled veteran was never taken into custody.   How often does this story repeat itself? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? The system that is supposed to be providing care for those of us with serious mental illness is broken. Who do we blame? Some point the finger of blame at the mentally ill themselves. Why do we let ourselves fall into such a pit?   Henderson served in the Air Force in Afghanistan and was a certified personal trainer. But his family said he suffered a long battle with mental health [...]