My dad is 73 years old with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He ignored his worsening issues with his knees and back. For many years, he rejected my offer to take him to the doctor and find a new apartment (his current apartment has 8 uneven concrete steps to get into the building). Things got bad a few weeks ago where I came to his apartment and he was hugging the walls in order to walk. He was ordering canned food from Amazon because he couldn’t go to the grocery store. I ended up calling Adult Protective Services and he eventually decided to go to the hospital after a few days because things got so bad where he was crawling on the floor to get around. He ended up having nerve compression of the cervical spine and they did surgery on him. Currently, he is in inpatient rehab. I spoke to the physical therapist and they recommended he find an apartment that doesn’t require 8 steps to get in and out. My dad said that he refuses to go to another apartment or assisted living. He has enough money to afford at least 6 years in a nice assisted living, but he doesn’t want to part with his money. I’m not going to take him into my house if he’s unwilling to help himself. I am thinking about talking to the doctor to get a competency evaluation, but if he is found competent, can they just discharge him home to an unsafe living situation? If he is found incompetent, then what happens?
Of course we all know they will not take meds once out of hospital. So there's that. But I doubt the courts will help you here.
You can continue to call APS for crisis intervention.
I suggest you read the excellent Memoir by Liz Scheier called Never Simple.
She attempted to intervene for her mother for many decades, until her mother's death in a sort of skid row housing. She had the help of the entire social services network of the City and State of New York. All to no avail.
As anyone who has dealt long with mental illness in there family there is very little help for you, I am afraid. Avail yourself of discharge planning and do the best you can do, and don't miss that book because you will learn that there isn't a lot you CAN do here. I am so very sorry.
Yet let him know IT IS OK to change his mind. At any time.
When he goes home, is housebound, cannot get out to shop or live his life, then DON'T ENABLE.
This is his choice.
If Dad chooses home, then the consequences are his.
If not coping, HE can call EMS. (Or you call APS again).
Back to a hospial, back through rehab, back to wantong to home. Trying home. Home not working. Round the loop again.
See the pattern? Some people change their mind quickly, others take a few loops. Or their fall/health/illness forces a change of track: from homebound to permanent care facility.