No Exit

"It's not rocket science," he says.

Johnson says his program would take on ex-felons. In fact, there are already some in the Highline program, and there have been no problems.

Judith Eve Lipton

A patient in Western State's geriatric unit wheels himself around a dayroom in a "Broda" chair.

Details

SEATTLE WEEKLY
2004 MENTAL-HEALTH COVERAGE

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• Mentality challenged in Olympia (3/3/2004). MORE

• Give them shelter (5/5/2004). MORE

• Mental-health purgatory at Western State Hospital (8/11/2004). MORE

• Psyched out and fighting for normalcy. (11/17/2004) MORE

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More About

• Wei Li
• Kim Brown
• Kevin Casey
• Mental Health
• Bipolar Disorder Medication

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And Wei Li himself ought to be example enough that discharging people from Western is worthwhile.

On a recent hot July day, he sat at a small dining table in his home across from Brown. He said that he still heard voices each day.

"Bad things I imagine in my mind," he said. "I can't control."

Brown looked at him for a moment. She has a sympathetic face and that day it was working overtime. She was angry that Harborview Medical Center had yet to examine Wei Li's hand, almost a month after it became unusable.

"The best thing is to make sure you have a good life anyway," she said. Earlier, she told me that Wei Li's future was hard to predict. He'd probably be unable to live with his family again. He is too much for them to cope with. As he improves, he might be able to hold down an assembly job for 10 to 20 hours a week, assuming he can find an understanding employer. Most likely, he'll always have to rely on public funding for housing, food, and medical care.

"OK," said Wei Li.

Later, we took Wei Li to Seahurst Park in Burien, along Puget Sound. The view across the Sound to Vashon Island and the Olympic Mountains is gorgeous. There is a path that runs under some hardwood trees along the seawall. It was cool under the trees.

Wei Li began to walk. He stopped and raised his arm, his splinted hand and wrist, and said "hello" to everyone who passed.

He walked quickly, with a regular stride. He did not kick up dust on the path. Brown and I let him walk ahead of us.

The next week, Wei Li saw his mother at his family's home on Mercer Island. He took her flowers. There were no problems.

pdawdy@seattleweekly.com