My father has been struggling with Manic-Depressive Bipolar disorder for TEN years. And for TEN years we have been overlooked and denied the rightful and correct treatment from places such as El Paso Behavioral Health System. We have begged, pleaded, and negotiated too many times to count for a decade now, and yet we have still been put in a place of silence. And after TEN years of constant battle with the systems of the people who are supposed to HELP us when we ask for it, they have still failed us. 

My dad has personally tried to check himself in, yet they denied him. They refused to help for one last time, and this one last time, resulted in him being incarcerated. A mentally ill person is being thrown in jail, when he should be spending his time in a hospital. 

My father is a teacher, a coach, a friend, a brother, and a son. He's not a criminal. He deserves to get help in the correct setting.