From Mom to Advocate: A Teen’s Developmental Disability Blazes a Path to Advocacy

When Dr. Liz Piñon first reached out to TJP in early summer, her 18 yr old son Gabe who was diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) since the age of five, was being held in Tarrant county jail on a cash bond of $5,000. Gabe was arrested at a state funded residential group home where he was attacked and injured by another teen with special needs.

Instead of helping Gabe, the authorities decided to arrest and incarcerate him. Not only that, the jail booked him under the wrong name and date of birth which initially prevented the state from fulfilling its mandated continuity of care requirement for mental health care.

Gabe should have been diverted from the jail due to his I/DD or at least connected with his support system immediately. His family wasn’t even told where he was for over two days.

It eventually took a news story for the jail and the county mental health system to provide Gabe with his essential meds and even then he was not given all of his medications.

With our support, Dr. Piñon raised hell with the jail, the local mental health authority, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, Health and Human Services and the county commissioners. After a few weeks, Gabe was released from jail on a cash bond but the nightmare did not end. 

Gabe was facing violent felony charges that are tragically all too common when people with I/DD encounter law enforcement. The kind of charges that have far reaching consequences when it comes to accessing housing and other essential services. Consequences that are greatly exacerbated for vulnerable youth like Gabe. Sometimes with deadly outcomes.

While we helped Dr. Piñon with legal resources, we also worked on bringing Gabe’s story to policy making spaces such as the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council (SBHCC) and to the I/DD Advisory Committee (IDDAC). The IDDAC is a legislatively mandated committee that studies the issue of people with I/DD in county jails. TJP’s executive director is a de facto member of this committee.

Liz provided valuable comments at the public meeting of the IDDAC in October ’23. We recommended her appointment to the IDDAC and helped prepare her application to formally serve on this committee.

We are so thrilled and proud to announce that Liz has been appointed to serve on the IDDAC in the role of a family member of a person with I/DD. She will be the voice of families with loved ones like Gabe who are often forced into the criminal punishment system for behaviors resulting from their disabilities.

Just a few weeks ago, our collaborative efforts also led to the felony charges against Gabe being completely dismissed. “I’ve very mixed feelings about it,” said Dr. Pinon.