By Kingsley Emanuel
The family of Irvin Jean Pierre is making an impassionate plea for the authorities to assist them by putting measures in place to ensure that their loved one does not harm himself or others as a result of his erratic behavior.
According to Lucita Jean Pierre, the sister of the Irvin Jean Pierre, who now resides in the USA, her brother’s behaviour has gotten worse recently, resulting in him being savagely beaten by people whom he may have wronged.
According to the worried family member, recently her brother made an attempt to set a family member’s house in Laborie on fire.
“He is taking people’s stuff…” she said.
Jean Piere said she feels very bad about the situation and is worried that her brother’s behavior may lead to his death or another person’s death.
She said every time he is taken to the Wellness Centre; he is discharged days after.
“He is not violent, but you never know…Somebody may kill him or he kills somebody,” she told this reporter in an interview.
“I am begging the authority to assist. I would like them to find a place to keep him. I am willing to pay for the service,” she said, adding that the system has failed her.
She lamented that it is not right to treat a mentally ill person the way her brother is being treated, admitting that he does a lot of bad things.
“I know how it is… If I ever treat a mentally ill person that way in New York, I will be sent to jail,” she said.
Jean Pierre said she has called several media houses in St Lucia to express her concerns.
“Irvin is not bothering me. I am all the way in New York. I just don’t want anything to happen to him,” she said.
Speaking with multiple residents of Banse, Laborie, where the mentally ill man resides, they confirmed Jean Pierre’s story, saying that they are sick and tired of Irvin’s behavior.
“He is stealing people’s clothes on their clotheslines at night,” a resident said.
This reporter has witnessed Jean Pierre savagely being beaten by someone who accused him of stealing his property.