For-profit companies are setting up group homes that deliver mental health services yet craft their delivery in such a way that they avoid state and federal regulation. Several such homes are operating just a handful of miles from where I live, run by a company named Hanbleceya. The Seattle Times newspaper has done a couple of detailed stories on them — one on how Hanbleceya operates and one on their mistreatment of a resident — and also shared a red flag-raising quote from Ron Honberg, the director for policy and legal affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “There has been a proliferation across the country of a new breed of unregulated boarding homes that provide long-term mental-health treatment… these homes often are operated by staffers who have little training or education in mental health, “ Honberg said.
In Washington State, Hanbleceya uses semi-independent living with off-site clinical care. As a result, the homes don’t fall into the Department of Health’s (DOH) category of residential treatment facilities because Hanbleceya doesn’t provide treatment inside the homes. (They’re providing all kinds of other sort-of supervised services, though.) They also don’t fall under Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) regulation.
Stories have emerged of Hanbleceya’s treatment of its residents that are very disturbing. Hanbleceya’s homes started operating around here in 2012, and the Department of Health is now conducting their second investigation, thankfully. In addition, a citizens group in Normandy Park, where the homes are located, are working with lawmakers on legislation to close the licensing and monitoring crack into which Hanbleceya has fallen. This approach might also be the best way forward in other states that have seen these homes pop up.
Does this type of model for mental health care raise concerns for you? Have you ever had a relative or loved one receive poor treatment in a residential mental health facility? If you filed a complaint to the facility or the province/state, what was the result?
So often these abuses in unregulated homes are never reported because mental patients are simply put away from family and society, then forgotten. They are among the saddest of all victims. We have made such great strides in medicine, yet so much of the human brain is a landscape that no one understands. And mental health is an illness that seldom knows a cure.
It is sad. Nobody should be forgotten. Twitter friend Curtis Edmonds shared this great resource today (it’s a list of advocate agencies for each state for people to report mistreatment): http://www.napas.org/images/Documents/PA_CAP_List2012-EDs.pdf
Well I have to say your blog is pretty scary. I don’t have any first hand knowledge of the situation, but privatization, when it is unregulated, never works , whatever field it’s in. When it’s something like mental health where the residents are incredibly vulnerable, it’s even more appalling.
Thank goodness Hanbleceya is being looked into, but it makes me wonder how many other organizations are slipping under the radar in other states.
A great issue to raise.
Sometimes regulation is a good thing. I know a lot of folks are wary of government, but in this kind of situation, the oversight makes sense. Thank you for reading!
Thanks for making us aware of this, Laura. It’s pathetic.
You’re welcome, Mary, and yes, I agree!
Very disturbing. These places should all have oversight. This just further proves how anything remotely connected with mental health issues gets shoved to the back burner. This society is so afraid of people knowing the harsh truths of reality. We hide our slums, we make sure no one has to deal with the stark reality of excrement, we aren’t even allowed to wash the bodies of our dead anymore. We are so far removed from the stark truth of life and living it, it boggles the mind. Very ostrich-like. Some “progress” really isn’t. At all.
I’ve just gotten off the phone with my brother, who lives in a group home that was downgraded to a boarding home about 18 months ago. He is no longer receiving sufficient nutrition — lunch is part of a bowl of Ramen noodles. He and several of the guys go out for subs a few times a week, but his funds are getting stretched. He likes the owner’s ex-husband, who functions as “face” of the center to the clients. He’s also afraid of the owner and the facility manager, both of whom are volatile. So he doesn’t want to make waves. Plus, if he did, there aren’t a lot of alternative placements. It’s a real mess.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that, Carrie. It sounds like the home is privately owned and run, and to me, that poses additional risks. If a facility is government owned and run (as they are in countries with public health care), then the lines of accountability are clear. With a privately-owned facility, you’re at the mercy of a government agency who is supposed to provide regulatory oversight, and as I’ve been hearing, that might be one 30-minute visit per year or something of the sort. Do you know why the home was downgraded? I’m assuming that boarding homes get almost no oversight from any agency, hey? Again, I’m really sorry to hear of your brother’s situation, I hope that it takes a turn for the better and thank you for sharing.
After reading the post Am only be able to answer your questions .
I never faced this type of situation up to now . But its shocking because Health departments(any health department) are the one on which people do trust for their better health but if the same things will remain going on then to whom we do trust for the better health or treatment.
It’s true, Sahil. We expect our health departments and other government agencies to hold and enforce the highest standards, but too often they let us down, especially in a marketplace where there are a lot of private providers. In this particular case, eventually the Hanbleceya group home was shut down because the local government agency did not provide it with full operating accreditation, thankfully.