My brother was paranoid schizophrenic. Our parents took him out of grade school in the 4th grade because he just wasn't up to the task of learning and had problems with his teachers and fellow students. He was very difficult to deal with. Back then there weren't any options for children like him other than mental institutions. All his life he worked at hard physical labor jobs, but he worked every day and was never without work. He worked until his health failed and he couldn't physically do it any more. Luckily he was at retirement age and could draw social security. Because of his mental condition he had no friends or social life but he didn't resort to drugs or alcohol as an escape from his reality. He could only read at the 3rd grade level and his writing ability was far less than that but he held a job. No I don't give money to panhandlers.
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