Mental health advocate Johnson: Don’t stigmatize mental health. SD needs a psychiatric residential treatment facility in state

It's been over five years since Nicholas went to Copper Hills, a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) in Utah.

One of the worst days of my life. I remember it like it was yesterday. Waking up knowing two big guys were coming at 7 p.m. to remove him from his home (his safe place) and take him far away from his mom and Jasper (his dog and best friend) was gut-wrenching.

I wasn’t allowed to be in the room while they were there. I couldn’t tell him that everything was going to be OK or how much I loved him. He went without a fight, which made things a little easier.

I did peek my head around the corner and saw the guys escorting him out of the house. The image remains with me today. I can’t imagine what was going through his mind or how terrified he must have felt.

Who is Nicholas? He is my son, a brother, loving, kind, caring, smart, funny, helpful and worth fighting for. ( Editor’s note: Nicholas is seen above with the author in a photo by Beverly Froslie Johnson.)

We were in HyVee right before he went to Copper Hills, where there was an older lady on a scooter trying to reach for a carton of milk. Nicholas went over, asked if she needed help and proceeded to grab the milk for her. She thanked him and Nicholas carried on his mission to get chips.

One of the store employees witnessed what he had done. He chased Nicholas down to tell him how proud he was of him.  Nicholas smiled and thanked him for the kind words.

Then he turned to me and said, “You must be so proud of your son.”

I answered, “More than you know.”

The thing is, I teach my kids to be kind and help people when they see someone in need.

People can’t help falling in love with him. He made connections with many of the staff members at Avera. His psychiatrist there said they liked his cuteness and sense of humor. A teacher at Copper Hills told me that if he could have a favorite student, Nicholas would be the one.

The point I’m trying to make is that neither his autism, PTSD nor his other mental illnesses define who he truly is. Mental illness has such a negative perception and stigma attached to it.

I don’t want people avoiding Nicholas because they assume he could be unstable, violent or dangerous. That is not the case. There is such a lack of understanding rather than information based on facts among the public.

Before Nicholas went to Copper Hills, he was hospitalized seven times at Avera Behavioral Health Hospital, three long stays at South Dakota’s HSC (Human Services Center), once at Mayo and there were two mental health holds at JDC (Juvenile Detention Center).

I call our police involvement the good, the bad and the ugly. The good was when we had trained officers come and they would de-escalate Nicholas to where he would go willingly to Avera Behavioral Health.

The bad was when the officers got impatient and threw Nicholas on the couch, pinned him face-down to the point where he couldn’t breathe and then handcuffed him.

The ugly was when they came in with Tasers pointed at him, or when one officer slammed him down on the cement sidewalk face down and forced his knee onto his back. Both times were for no reason.

Throughout our journey, I had several organizations involved including the South Dakota Parent Connection, Disability Rights South Dakota, ACLU and Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare in South Dakota. The ACLU finally was able to get the school to fund a psychiatric residential treatment facility that Nicholas desperately needed.

But it shouldn’t have been over 1,000 miles away. He should not have been so far from family for a year and a half. It should have been right here at home, in South Dakota.

We spend $10 million a year sending our children away, out-of-state. It makes no sense whatsoever.

Beverly Froslie Johnson of Sioux Falls is a South Dakota native and children’s mental health advocate helping other parents navigate the complicated and complex systems so children receive the services and supports they deserve. Johnson was a candidate for District 9 House in the 2024 election. Her work with then-state Rep. Linda Duba (D-15) resulted in House Bill 1302, which was signed into law in 2022.