Overview of the Documentary
I watched “Right to Fail,” a documentary that discusses the outcomes of the transition of severe mental illness in New Yorkers from a tightly controlled setting to independent homes following a federal court order in 2014. According to the documentary, thousands of individuals with severe mental illness live in adult homes after being discharged from psychiatric hospitals (Jennings & Sapien, 2019, 3:57). However, the conditions at the adult homes are not conducive even though there is likely to be close attention and company.
Therefore, since some people felt the need to live freely and independently, the court allowed them a chance, providing a program for supported housing. Unfortunately, the system failed, with 33 people dying and 39 returning to adult homes, as reported by the New York State Office of Mental Health (Jennings & Sapien, 2019, 34:05). The discussion highlights some of the social policy issues in the documentary and my takeaways.
Social Justice and Policy Issues Explored
Some relevant social policy issues discussed include poor living conditions, social care, and health care. At adult homes, the living conditions are pathetic, and the individuals feel divorced from the world. Some are exposed to physical abuse, others to prostitution, while another group turns to drugs. Moreover, people die and go for days before their corpses are found (Jennings & Sapien, 2019, 4:29).
After the court order, those who moved to supported housing were scared of living alone, some refused care, and their condition worsened as days passed, proving there was poor social care. In other cases, some individuals did not take or were inconsistent with their medications, leading to deaths, a clear indication that quality health care was not offered to the victims.
Key Takeaways and Insights
Watching the documentary was enlightening about what people with severe mental illness experience. These people are voiceless, and there is no clear plan of where they should live. As I watched the victims’ conditions, I felt they needed very close attention and should be monitored throughout, not necessarily giving them a right to freedom.
Overall, I learned that we should not neglect our relatives when they have a mental illness but should show them love and take care of them. Nora, a woman in the documentary, stood by her dead friend’s son, Nestor, all through, which I found very encouraging.
Reference
Jennings, T. & Sapien, J. (2019). Right to fail [Film]. PBS. Web.