Neighbours with Mental Health issues.

Clawhammer

One of the Worrying aspects of living in housing estates is that County Councils and Health Service providers are allowing neighbours with Mental Health issues to move in and over time, if not almost immediately, to take over and make Life Hell for either one or 2 families or Everyone else.

What Responsibilities do the Councils and Health Services take for adults or teenagers who are Mentally ill and Physically Dangerous for the most part?

My Brother lives in the Cork County area and has his Family life destroyed because of this scenario.

Castlecomer

This is the same in every estate, council or not, unfortunately we have no control over our neighbours.

Some of the wealthiest estates in Ireland are chock-full of individuals who are not in the whole of their mind.

There is really no responsibility from any public authority insofar as preventing families with mental health challenges moving into any house, save an acute (life-threatening) scenario which is generally managed in the short term.

I would feel for your brother but short of moving, he will have to manage this himself.

Peregrinus

If somebody is suffering from a mental illness, severe dementia or significant intellectual disability, and as a result there is a serious likelihood that they may cause immediate and serious harm to themselves or to other people, then they can be involuntarily detained for the purpose of assessment and treatment. This is a medical procedure; the County Council are not involved.

You don't say what behaviour the person involved is engaging in, so we have know way of knowing if there is a "serious likelihood that they may cause immediate and serious harm" to your brother or anyone else. If that was the case, your brother would involve the guards, and the guards would look at trying to get the person medically examined with a view to involuntary admission.

But that threshhold is a pretty high one. Lots of people engage in disruptive or antisocial behaviour which we - rightly or wrongly - attribute to mental disorder. There isn't necessarily a legal remedy for this; you have no legal right to have neighbours who are all in good mental health. If they are doing things that are illegal - assault, damage to property, that kind of thing - then of course you can involve the guards, but as the underlying problem is not a legal one, legal remedies can only be of limited help in addressing it.

The people best positioned to make a positive intervention are the family of the afflicted person, and they are often highly motivated to do something because - after the afflicted person themselves - they are the people who are most adversely affected by his poor mental health. So - if he hasn't already - your brother should consider trying to establish a (supportive) relationship with them. They may be at their wits end, and glad to consider any suggestions that your brother may have to offer, or to think about joint action for managing the situation.