NORFOLK, Va. - It's something we do on a daily basis. After a long day, we come home, take off our shoes and relax.
But what if a stranger walked into your home and did the same thing without your permission? That's what Jennifer Green experienced at her Ocean View home.
Green returned to her home after dropping her two oldest children off at school around 10:30 a.m. While she was sitting in her kitchen, she heard footsteps.
TRENDING: Hampton Roads' first casino set to open in one month
She immediately got up and walked to her living room where she saw a woman walking through her unlocked door.
"I looked, I said, 'Who is it?' No one answered, so I got up," said Green. "I came through here and I saw a lady standing there and I said, 'Ma’am I think you’re in the wrong house.'”
Green says the woman walked right by her, sat on her couch, and took off her shoes. Green then locked herself and her youngest son in her room and called for help. She says she was worried for her son's safety.
“I just wanted to make sure that she wasn’t going to try to go through that door or anything to be near the baby,” said Green.
Norfolk police escorted the woman out and told our News 3 reporter Gabriel Thomas via email "that the woman had suffered from a medical condition that caused her to become confused and she had entered the home by mistake."
Green and her son were not physically harmed, and she says she's glad no one got in trouble or got hurt. She says she now locks her door every day and hopes her ordeal can teach people how to be gentle with people who may have mental illnesses.
Our News 3 Gabriel Thomas also spoke with some mental health experts in Hampton Roads, and these are the steps you should follow if you're approached by someone experiencing a mental health crisis:
- Remain calm
- Don't make any sudden movements
- When you contact the police clarify if a person is mentally ill
- Connect with the mental health community service board
If you would like to connect with the mental health community service board in Norfolk,click here.
To connect with the community service board in Hampton Roads-Newport News, click here.
If you or someone you know is in a behavioral health crisis, call (757)-664-7690.
