This is what I fear will happen here with Mississippi cutting back funds for mental health assistance so drastically.
Army vet sought mental health care before murder-suicide
Just days before Joshua Stiles fatally shot his wife and took his own life, the 30-year-old Army veteran from Alabama sought mental health treatment, only to be turned away.
"It shouldn't be this hard to get help," said Stiles' sister Jennifer Johnson. "He was trying to get help to be a better person, a better husband, a better man, a better father."
Stiles had been suffering with PTSD, depression and anxiety for years before he shot his 22-year-old wife, Brittney Stiles, in front of her sister and their 2-year-old daughter, Mary Jane, in Russellville. Josh Stiles fled the scene and killed himself after a police chase this past Tuesday, according to authorities.
Johnson said her brother contacted a mental health treatment facility in Russellville several days before the murder-suicide but was told he would have to make an appointment. Johnson said she called Decatur Morgan Hospital hoping a bed would be available for Josh, who was willing to voluntarily commit himself for psychiatric treatment. But, there were no spaces open. Hospital spokeswoman Leigh Hays did not answer a request for comment.
Josh Stiles even contacted Veterans Affairs, his sister told AL.com.
"They said they would send him some paperwork to fill out," Johnson said. "They said if he was feeling suicidal he should go to the emergency room. At that moment, he wasn't feeling suicidal. He just knew he was struggling with PTSD and depression."
Joshua Stiles' story is the most recent in a series of cases highlighting a mental health crisis in Alabama. The closure of several psychiatric treatment facilities has left the state, which is experiencing a shortage of funding, also without enough beds to house mental health patients in hospitals and other care centers. In 2016, AL.com published an in-depth series of stories detailing the crisis and steps being taken to address it.
Army vet sought mental health care before murder-suicide
Just days before Joshua Stiles fatally shot his wife and took his own life, the 30-year-old Army veteran from Alabama sought mental health treatment, only to be turned away.
"It shouldn't be this hard to get help," said Stiles' sister Jennifer Johnson. "He was trying to get help to be a better person, a better husband, a better man, a better father."
Stiles had been suffering with PTSD, depression and anxiety for years before he shot his 22-year-old wife, Brittney Stiles, in front of her sister and their 2-year-old daughter, Mary Jane, in Russellville. Josh Stiles fled the scene and killed himself after a police chase this past Tuesday, according to authorities.
Johnson said her brother contacted a mental health treatment facility in Russellville several days before the murder-suicide but was told he would have to make an appointment. Johnson said she called Decatur Morgan Hospital hoping a bed would be available for Josh, who was willing to voluntarily commit himself for psychiatric treatment. But, there were no spaces open. Hospital spokeswoman Leigh Hays did not answer a request for comment.
Josh Stiles even contacted Veterans Affairs, his sister told AL.com.
"They said they would send him some paperwork to fill out," Johnson said. "They said if he was feeling suicidal he should go to the emergency room. At that moment, he wasn't feeling suicidal. He just knew he was struggling with PTSD and depression."
Joshua Stiles' story is the most recent in a series of cases highlighting a mental health crisis in Alabama. The closure of several psychiatric treatment facilities has left the state, which is experiencing a shortage of funding, also without enough beds to house mental health patients in hospitals and other care centers. In 2016, AL.com published an in-depth series of stories detailing the crisis and steps being taken to address it.
