Crazy Brother Came Home from Occupy Portland Last Night : occupyportland

This is most likely not the right place to put this but I could not think of a better one so here it goes. I really tried to shorten this so bare with me.

My 30 year old brother has an undiagnosed mental condition. I don't know the proper way to describe or define it. He has a skewed sense of reality, been in and out of trouble since his twenties and has been living with my parents on and off for six years as he's struggled to find work in the small town they live in. He refers to himself in the third person, is extremely paranoid, and cannot put a full sentence together 90 percent of the time. I love him but I fear for him on a daily basis. Because of the laws of the state they live in, he cannot be hospitalized or institutionalized against his will unless he physically harms anyone. He's never been violent but has refused to get himself any help. When my parents had done all they felt they could and were at the ends of their ropes, they kicked him out. I think the idea was that they recognized he had the potential to help himself but because they were enabling his behavior by taking care of him he wasn't getting better. He moved in with an aunt in Montana for a little while but one night just took off without any warning.

He apparently decided in the middle of the night in mid-September that he would grab his one bag of possessions, hop on a bicycle, and travel across the west coast. Along the way he found internet connections when he could and posted to Facebook every couple of weeks. My whole family was concerned about him and when he began posting that he changed his plans and planned to start hitting up the #Occupy movements I was conflicted. I know there are great people at these events but I feared he would become one of those scumbag moochers that give the movement a bad name, cause trouble, or worse, get hurt in the increasing amount of police clashes.

He updated us that he was in Portland about two weeks ago and was able to go to the library nearby so he started posting every few days regularly. He said he was planning to stay in Portland for a while. When the big clash last week happened, we all kind of freaked. He stopped updating and we had no idea where he was.

Last night my mom calls me in tears. She says he just showed up on her doorstep. I'm thinking, "oh god, he had a meltdown and is back to mooch off my parents again." She says he sat in her living room, speaking in full sentences, a smile on his face, talking about all the things he realized while in Portland.

He said the occupiers took him in without question, fed him without asking anything in return and some college kids that stayed the weekend even gave him a tent and sleeping bag when they left. He tells my mom of sitting with occupiers and learning their stories, hearing their world views, and even getting the chance to sit and tell his conspiracy theories without anyone judging him or assuming he was crazy and writing him off. He said he had his views challenged and opinions discussed and that it was amazing.

He said one of the medics recognized a lump on his head that mysteriously showed up in his early twenties (about the same time he started acting strange) and urged him to seek medical attention. Another occupier took him to the social security office. Not sure the implications of that, something about them being able to guide him through the process of properly seeking psychiatric help or something. He said one of the occupiers explained to him the importance of proper financial management and gave him tips on finding a job in a small town. They recognized that he needed help and through a series of events got him put on a bus back home with a better understanding of himself and a will to go home and try to get his life on the right track.

I'm not saying he's got his life right or he's miraculously cured but these are all things that my parents have tried to do for him and explain to him for over six years with no results. My mom is skeptical but just being able to sit in her own living room and have a semi-normal conversation with her son was enough to have her calling me in tears. She has hope, something she hasn't had in years. For the first time in six years my mom isn't thinking of my brother with despair and concern and she's flabbergasted at the change in him.

I don't know who to thank or if anyone will read this. I just had to get this off my chest and say THANK YOU to the #Occupy Portland folks who recognized that he needed help and guided him in the right path. I don't know if he will follow through with things or if things will get better but I can't help but feel like my family has #OccupyPortland to thank.

TLDR: My crazy brother went to Portland to mooch. Portland occupiers recognized his problems and sent him home a better person than he was when he left.