A Lawyer Says He Doesn't Need Help for Psychosis. His Family Disagrees.

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, Business News, News

4.2 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2024

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

WSJ’s Julie Wernau wanted to test a hypothesis: are there more mentally ill homeless people now, compared to before the pandemic? That question led her to Rob Dart. Once a successful lawyer, in 2022 he went into a downward spiral, which his family has not been able to stop despite their best efforts. Further Reading: - A Lawyer Abandoned Family and Career to Follow the Voices in His Head - A Lawyer’s Slide Into Psychosis Was Captured in a WSJ Profile. He Tells Us His Story. Further Listening: - America's Maternal Mental Health Crisis - Evicted on Wood Street: California's Housing Crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	When Rob Dart was growing up, he was good at just about everything.
0:10.0	He was voted the Renaissance man in high school. He was the captain of the football team.
0:15.0	He got straight A's except for French.
0:18.0	This is Rob's sister, Jennifer Dart.
0:21.0	Can you describe Rob before?
0:25.0	Yeah, I call him the real Rob.
0:30.0	He was the nicest person.
0:32.0	He was always putting his friends and his family first.
0:36.5	One of his high school friends told me that Rob was the designated driver for the parties.
0:41.7	So he was just never wanting to put anything in his system
0:45.8	that would jeopardize his brain because he knew how smart he was. Rob went on to Duke University and then to law school. He moved to California and started a family and he and Jennifer stayed in touch.
0:59.0	Okay Jennifer, it's Rob just calling to say hi. Hope you're doing well. I hope it's not too late to call.
1:05.0	You can call me back later if you want to or tomorrow. I love you. Bye-bye.
1:10.0	We definitely have been close until he got sick.
1:15.0	Of course I go back and listen to his voicemails and look at old pictures and have wonderful memories with him.
1:22.0	Hopefully I'll be able to have that relationship again. You talk about the real Rob. What do you call this Rob?
1:35.0	So I just call the sick Rob. That's not the Rob I know.
1:39.0	The sick Rob. That's what my mom always reminds me, this isn't Rob. He's sick, which is true.
1:47.0	Today, Rob Dart suffers from psychosis.
1:50.0	At 44, Rob's homeless and living on the streets of Los Angeles.
1:55.0	And everything his family has done to get him help has failed.
2:00.0	I think my brothers is an extreme example but a great example of how the system does not work.
	...

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