A very confused and distressed young man wandered into our home on Sunday and began acting erratically. He was clearly suffering from a severe mental illness, probably schizophrenia, and from his nice clothes yet disheveled appearance I'm guessing he had a home somewhere but had been on the street for a few days.

My husband Tim began talking to him and trying to figure out how to help him, but when Tim tried walking with him outside the man slammed the door on him and started raving about "recruiters" and saying Tim was a pedophile. 

The man was too confused to figure out how to lock the door, so he was just leaning against it to keep Tim out. Tim's a big guy and a trained martial artist and could have forced his way back in and overpowered the man, but he also worked at a psychiatric facility for years and understood that this would needlessly escalate a situation that could probably be peacefully de-escalated.

Tim went around the back where I had just encountered the man and explained the situation to me in a calm and friendly way that would be sure not to agitate our unexpected houseguest. My family talked to him for a minute and he relaxed a bit, and then he left without a fuss.