Mental Illness-- Juvenile Population

http://nbc4i.com/2017/03/21/i-71nb-closed-near-grove-city-after-pedestrian-struck/

As I am sure everyone has seen, a male juvenile was part of a semi accident within the past couple days. This accident occurred in Grove City Ohio on the morning of March 21st 2017. When his happened, the male walked out in front of the semi truck. Luckily, the driver seen him and was able to stop his truck to some extent.Although he was able to slow down some, the boy was still hit and banged up pretty bad. According to the article, the boy was taken to Grant Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He is now out of the ICU, which is great news!

This juvenile was from the Buckeye Ranch, which is where those between the ages of ten to seventeen. This is a place where these individuals are not sentenced to but where they are taken when they have a mental health condition that needs to be treated. At one point in the article, the leader of this facility states that he does not know where they would be if they were not here. In other words, he states that he feels that they would be homeless, in jail or at an emergency room waiting to be seen by someone who is not capable of working with them and their mental illness.

After reading what happened, it made me really think about this population. It made me think about why these individuals are driven to this place in the first place. I know that they are diagnosed with  a mental illness, but the question of what their home life has been like is one thing that strikes me. Mental illness is something that can lead a juvenile down a negative path and can lead them to make irrational decisions that can really have a negative impact on their lives. In this case, this individual made he decision to end his life. This is one of the many decisions that can come from this decision making. In other words, what led him to feeling this is the only answer? Could he have felt like this is an escape from the life his has always known? Anyways, I feel that these individuals need to be heard and that they have a past that many may not know about. So, their cases in the justice system should be looked at on an individual basis, but that they should be looked at as a whole person. Just like it has been mentioned, they would most likely be homeless or in jail without places such as the Buckeye Ranch. These individuals are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect and often times, I do not think they are treated as such. Their lives are just beginning and just like with this individual, they deserve to be heard and understood. I believe this juvenile has so much to their story and I hope they are helped more and made to feel like they do deserve to be here on Earth.

-- Jennifer Lampinen