Episode 292- From Crisis To Reform: A Mother, A Judge, And A Broken System

Richard Helppie's Common Bridge

One mother’s plea and a judge’s blueprint collide with a terrifying truth: the systems meant to protect people with serious mental illness—and the communities around them—often wait until harm is done. We bring Beverly Gille and Judge Milton L. Mack Jr. together to map how a 28-year struggle, from teen psychosis to homelessness and a mass stabbing in a Traverse City Walmart, reveals the exact points where policy, privacy, and practice failed.
We walk through the pivotal transitions that matter most: when minors become adults and families lose access, when court orders lapse because of rigid renewal windows, and when police lack clear authority to transport someone to a crisis center before danger peaks. Judge Mack explains the shift toward assisted outpatient treatment, why recognizing lack of insight saves lives, and how proposed Michigan bills would empower families to file petitions, broaden who can testify, and end the “seven-day trap” that breaks continuity of care.
Beverly’s story grounds the policy in lived experience—adult foster care that worked until it didn’t, ACT teams with uneven follow-through, and a release to the streets where legal access to potent cannabis accelerated psychosis. We connect outcomes to dollars and dignity: assisted outpatient treatment reduces hospitalizations, arrests, homelessness, and drug use, delivering better recovery and safer communities without demanding new budget lines. Most of all, we challenge a false choice: untreated illness is not liberty; treatment restores agency, safety, and community trust.
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1. Welcome And Trigger Warning (00:00:00)

2. Traverse City Stabbings Overview (00:00:45)

3. Guests And Purpose Of Conversation (00:01:37)

4. Judge Mack’s Background And System Shift (00:02:42)

5. Beverly’s Early Signs And Diagnosis (00:04:06)

6. Treatment In Teens And Family Role (00:06:06)

7. Aging Into Adulthood And Legal Barriers (00:07:36)

8. Policy Evolution: 2016 And 2018 Changes (00:09:18)

9. Housing, Exploitation, And ACT Team Limits (00:11:12)

10. Forensic Pathway And NGRI Explained (00:13:08)

11. Adult Foster Care, Renewals, Then Drop-Off (00:15:10)

12. Release, Homelessness, And Missed Interventions (00:16:54)

13. The Walmart Attack And Aftermath (00:18:18)

14. Law Enforcement Authority And Crisis Transport (00:20:12)

15. What New Bills Would Change For Families (00:21:48)

16. Costs, Outcomes, And Funding Realities (00:23:04)

17. Culture, Liberty, And Assisted Treatment (00:24:08)

18. Closing Reflections And Next Steps (00:26:00)