Josiah Curtis and mental health laws

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - When Josiah Curtis was arrested on Thanksgiving Day for allegedly crashing several school buses and then stealing one to drive to Detroit, Don Tack's "heart just sank for him."

Tack worked with Curtis for two years, and countless others like him for decades through the Grand Rapids Servant Center.

In March 2009, a day after enrolling as a student in the Kendall College of Art and Design, Curtis caused a scene outside of the school . He sprayed a can of aerosol in the entry way of the downtown building, began to undress and then left.

His bizarre behavior -- captured on video at the time -- prompted the evacuation of the school, though no one hurt.

Police swarmed the area and eventually tracked him down.

That's when the Servant Center became Curtis' guardian and got a court order forcing him to get treatment. But those orders usually expire in 60-90 days.

"He's a sweet guy when he's taking his medications," Tack told 24 Hour News 8. "I think some changes (in the law) need to be made.

Tack wants state legislators to pass a law allowing judges to sign court orders for up to three years if someone has been committed to a mental health treatment facility more than three times.

"In my 20, 25 years working with mentally ill homeless people, I've known people who've been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital 15, 20, 25, 30 times," Tack said.

In a single year, Curtis, now 25, was committed five times and recently was arrested five times in just a couple months.

Tack thinks longer court orders could help stop the revolving door.

Curtis' mother told police he has a history of mental illness.

"Our biggest fear is that he will hurt someone," father Dale Curtis told 24 Hour News 8 Tuesday.

Curtis' parents said their son started showing signs of mental illness in mid- to late high school, but wasn't officially diagnosed with bipolar and schizo-affective disorders until age 20.

Probate court records document the Curtis family's effort to get Josiah help. But each time the court orders ran out after six months, Curtis went off his medication again.

His parents hope to see laws changed to make it easier to extend those court orders requiring Curtis to get treatment.

"We are not alone," Dale Curtis said Tuesday. "There are lots of families affected by mental illness. We're just the only ones willing to go on TV."

Curtis remains in the Washtenaw County jail, charged with driving without a license and receiving stolen property. He'll be in court in Ann Arbor next week.