I’ve lived next door to an elderly man who lives alone for the past year. He regularly smokes weed and drinks rather heavily. As of recent his condition has dramatically worsened and this morning I awoke to him rolling around on his porch yelling for people who weren’t there. I tried to have a conversation with him to no avail- he lives alone and has no family or real friends that I know of. What can I do to make sure he stays safe? I don’t want to call the police because of the drug use but I know he needs help.
The way to get care for people who can't care for themselves seems to be 1)you wait until there is a crisis, 2) get the person into "the system" and 3)hope they don't talk themselves out of a safe discharge.
Kudos to you for being a caring person! If you are able and feel safe doing so, see if you can talk to him in a lucid moment to find out if he does in fact have any relatives or close friends who may be appropriate to advocate for him. Get their contact info and call them. If he has no one, then social services will eventually designate a legal guardian and they will act in his best interests. Bless you!
You could do this one of 2 ways.
Call the non emergency number and describe the situation (you do not need to mention drug use) and say you are concerned about his welfare and safety.
or
During an episode as you described call the emergency (911) and again describe the situation and they will dispatch officers. They would then most likely take him to the hospital for evaluation.
This would probably get a faster response than calling Adult Protective Services at this time.
If your area/county has a Mental Health Department you could call them as well and discuss options, they might also be faster than APS and not as frightening as the police.
You should bring him a meat loaf or ust a plate of home cooked food and maybe he will be inclined to talk to you.
Then ask him if he needs help.
Maybe you can call a local church to see if they could visit.