My brother is in the Littlefield Texas Civil Commitment facility. He was working in the kitchen when he came in contact with a free world worker with Covid-19 in early August. He has been in quarantine with other kitchen workers since that time. He just recently tested positive on September 13th and has been locked in an isolation cell with one other resident who also tested positive. As of now, neither have shown any symptoms. He also said there are about 7-8 other residents with Covid-19.
They were moved into a dirty cell and required to clean it themselves. They didn’t have any cleaning supplies until we, their families, reported it to their case managers. They had no blankets, sheets or even a mattress until I informed my brother’s case manager. My brother told me the mattress he was given looked like it was picked out of the trash. Their meals are brought to them, and they are not allowed to get out of the isolation cell. As of Sept. 13th, they have no shower curtain, and they are having to shower in front of each other naked. There is no privacy.
Now it’s another 14 days of quarantine. Then what? He was told he may be asymptomatic. Hopefully, he will recover without any symptoms. We are upset with the way they are being treated. We continue to check on him daily. I thank God he has the use of his phone, and they allowed him to take his tv with him. I just don’t know what else to do. it is sad and cruel to have Covid-19 in these deplorable conditions.
-by Sister of Current Resident at TCCC
texansagainstcivilcommitment.com 
Thank you for your comment. You are absolutely correct. I believe they have used covid to stall treatment yet again. These residents have spent weeks and weeks with no treatment. Now, they are being given their biennials over the computer. Why can’t they go before the panel using the computer? Again, they are stalling treatment. TCCO continues to take the most prized possession these men have- their time.
The administration and TCCO continue to say it’s not a prison. Exactly who are they trying to convince?
We have a list of phone numbers and emails under the Resource tab on the first page. These are people to reach out to and talk about what’s really going on. Ask your family, church members, and friends to call and continue calling. The noise we make on these issues brings attention to what’s really going on.
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Apparantly they have a plan of dealing with COVID 19 by locking the residents in their rooms. At 10:30 this morning they closed all the doors and didn’t tell the residents anything. To my knowledge no one on the dorm that I am at has tested positive or shown any symptoms. Most of the officers have been sent home and quarantined.
Can you imagine the outrage if somebody locked their children in a closet and then justified it by saying they were doing it to protect them? It’s like something out of a horror movie. Because we don’t have any information or see and end in sight the last couple of weeks I have experienced depression, anxiety and hopelessness. They say they are doing it to protect us but they are really doing it to protect their investment by placing us in isolation, not allowing us any kind of exercise or social interaction. This isn’t any kind of life to live. This is what they do in prison when there has been a riot or civil unrest. We’re being punished and we haven’t done anything. ALM300 (From a realtive of a resident)
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I heard the same thing that you are reporting. One mom called the facility today and talked to a captain. She said everyone that was exposed was tested but we know that’s not true. So we also know MTC isn’t being honest with us. I’m not sure why they are locking everyone in their cells. Another question would be why was it ok to take the residents outside a couple months ago when they were on lock down but not this time?
I was told by someone that works out there that they NEVER had a plan for COVID and since they’ve known about it, since the first lockdown, they still haven’t come up with one. That’s not keeping these residents safe!
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So who do you complain to, the Health Department in Littlefield? These are important issues. The facility is not being cleaned. As they have Covid, the people are not being taken care of and their Families are not being notified as the men are sick. This must be placed in their Attention. As the men get their items TCCO is getting their % in their Dollars. We need to push them to do their job,even Senator Whitmire.These men are being held captive.
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We agree 100% and thank you for responding! There are several people to call listed under the RESOURCES TAB. Senator Whitmire is almost impossible to get through to. One thought right now is to call the members of the Sunset committee. You can google Texas Sunset Committee and it will show you the members. It’s actually better to call them. I was told around 8:15-8:30 is the best time to call them before they go into session. Email is a second option.
Sadly, what I’ve found is the Texas Representatives and Senators that I’ve called have NO IDEA what civil commitment is or where the men are even being held. So, an idea separate from that would be to call a National NAACP Representative. The reason I say national NAACP is, we have tried working with the local NAACP and she just disappeared, stopped communicating. Then we tried working with the state NAACP representative. Several different families have talked with the same man, and he just tells us to send him emails. We have… How many emails does it take for him to realize what these men are dealing with, living in? So, that’s why I recommend the national NAACP.
I was just listening to the news this morning about how it’s the 1 year anniversary of George Floyd’s death. He was killed by police brutality. That happens in the facility! It’s not always physical. Most often it’s mental and emotional, but it is physical at times, AND THESE MEN AREN’T PRISONERS ANYMORE!! They aren’t supposed to be… I think that may be the message we need to start spreading- to the NAACP, Sunset Committee, the Littlefield Mayor’s office, Texas Rangers, and even the APS- Adult Protective Services.
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I looked into Health Dept over Littlefield- is in Lubbock.
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Thank you
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