Mum says her mentally ill son is too dangerous to be allowed back into the community - just days after disturbed woman allegedly decapitated her mother
- Mother has opened up about her struggle with Australia's mental health system
- She fears her drug-affected son is too dangerous to be allowed back on streets
- Says he's become lost in the system as he's moved from one facility to another
- Come days after Rita Camilleri was allegedly killed and decapitated by daughter
A mother has opened up about her four year struggle with Australia's mental health system which has allowed her drug-addicted son to walk the streets.
She has penned a powerful piece expressing grave fears for her own safety, days after Rita Camilleri, 57, was allegedly killed and decapitated in her western Sydney home last Saturday night.
Rita's daughter Jessica Camilleri, 25, remains behind bars charged with her murder as she awaits for the results of a mental health assessment.
In an anonymous opinion piece for SBS Insight, the concerned mother says her son is locked in a vicious cycle as he gets moved from one mental health facility to another.
A mother has opened up about her struggle with Australia's mental health system in a powerful opinion piece, desperate to help her drug-affected son (stock image)
She recalled the first time her delusional and hallucinating son was admitted into a mental facility in July 2015, a night she says will haunt her forever.
His mania had spiralled so out of control he believed he was being stalked by a man who was trying to kill them
Her son then went to a neighbours home to tell them they were going to be killed.
'I feared for the safety of the rest of the family,' the mother wrote.
'I called my brothers to come and help me, I was having a nervous breakdown, I didn’t know what to do. He ended up stealing my car and crashing it. To this day it traumatises me to talk about that night, I still have nightmares about it.'
The mother says she's now at breaking point.
She's desperate to help her son but says his treatment has been inadequate and he is unable to stay long-term at rehab facility due to long waiting lists.
Rita Camilleri, 57, (pictured) was allegedly killed and decapitated. Her daughter Jessica has been charged with her murder as she awaits for the results of a mental health assessment
'The last five years have shown that each time his treatment ends he falls back into the same cycle,' she wrote.
'Yet despite this doctors will call me to talk about discharging him and I have to almost beg them to keep him in as I don’t think he should be allowed back into the community until he shows real progress.'
She described recent government funding into mental health programs as a good start but not enough, as facilities remain understaffed and under-resourced.
The mother clings onto the hope she will get her son back and that he'll become a successful citizen, a normal person functioning in society.
'But I’m afraid if things don’t change we’ll never get there. I’m afraid this cycle will destroy him, and me, and neither of us will make it out,' she wrote.
Rita, 57, had been babysitting her four-year-old grandson before her decapitated body was found in the kitchen of her St Clair home last Saturday night.
Jessica Camilleri, 25, (pictured) has been remanded in custody over the death of her mother
It was revealed this week Ms Camilleri's troubled daughter had a history of violent assaults and had appeared before NSW local courts over the past five years for attacking people, including her aunt.
But she had been freed from custody every time after being assessed as mentally ill under Section 32 under the Mental Health Act.
Jessica told Parramatta Bail Court after being charged last Sunday that she suffered from a number of conditions including border autism, bipolar disorder and anxiety.
She spent the night in hospital undergoing a mental health assessment before bail was formally refused on Monday.
The matter will next be heard at Penrith Local Court on August 9 it's brought back to the same court on September 20 for mention.
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health issues, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
A mother says her son has become lost in the bureaucracy of the system, unable to get the help he needs as he's moved from one mental health facility to another (stock image)
