Jacksonville veteran says mental health facility holding him for week with no hearing

A combat-disabled veteran told Action News Jax he’s being unnecessarily held against his will at a Jacksonville mental health facility without a hearing.

Robert Mayo, who said he’s already been locked inside River Point Behavioral Health for a week, was initially admitted under Florida’s Baker Act.

The Baker Act allows mental health facilities such as River Point to hold patients for 72 hours if they are  deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

Mayo said he should not be a Baker Act patient and he has not gotten the hearing he is entitled to by law.

His wife, Elizabeth Mayo, denies her husband has threatened to harm himself or others.

She said her husband couldn’t get a mental health appointment at the Veterans Affairs facility until  until the end of September, so he went to River Point for help.

A week later, she hired an attorney to help get her husband out.

She said their son can barely sleep at night.

“He just lays in there and cries for Daddy, cries for Daddy. Every time he hears a door or something, he’s asking for daddy,” said Elizabeth Mayo.

If a patient is involuntarily committed beyond the 72 hours allowed by the Baker Act, they’re entitled to a hearing within five days.

An Action News Jax Investigation last year revealed only about 2 percent of local Baker Act patients were getting those hearings.

“How are you supposed to feel safe asking for help when you know you can be held indefinitely against your will?” said Robert Mayo, who called Action News Jax from inside the facility, with the help of his attorney. “They can hold you without having to explain themselves to anybody for as long as they want. It’s like going to jail without ever having a set release date.”

He said he doesn't know whether his petition for a hearing was even filed.

A Navy sailor who was at River Point with Robert Mayo said he also filed a petition for a hearing and did not get one either.

“People with not so-great insurance are out of there within two to three days,” said the sailor, who asked Action News Jax not to share his identity because he is on active duty.

Action News Jax contacted River Point Behavioral Health’s spokesperson twice on Friday, asking if the facility is filing patients’ petitions for hearings.

We have not gotten a response.

At least five patients at River Point and its sister facility, Wekiva Springs Center, are suing, claiming they were unnecessarily held against their will beyond their 72-hour Baker Act holding; they believe it’s so the facilities could milk their insurance companies.

Got a story tip for Jenna Bourne? Email her at jbourne@actionnewsjax.com.

Cox Media Group