No One Should Have to Live in Fear: The Role of the Ordinary Citizen

September 15, 2025.Reading time 8 minutes.

By Lewis McLain, collaborating, guiding, and editing AI

Fear is one of the most primal human responses. It protects us in sudden danger, but when it becomes a daily companion, it corrodes the human spirit. Public fear—on buses, sidewalks, subways, or in neighborhoods—steals trust, peace, and dignity. The image of a woman recoiling in terror on a city train, knees drawn to her chest as another looms over her, tells a painful truth: no one should have to live this way.

Texas: A Case Study in Mental Health Gaps

Texas illustrates both the scale of the challenge and the stakes involved:

Prevalence: One in five Texas adults experience mental illness each year. Among youth, 35% have a mental or behavioral health need.
Shortages: 246 of 254 Texas counties are designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. Entire regions have no psychiatrist or child psychologist.
Treatment Gaps: A quarter of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression were unable to access counseling in 2021.

The result is predictable: untreated mental illness spills over into public spaces, creating fear not only for the person suffering but for bystanders as well. Assaults and behavioral crises on Texas buses and trains are rising, with some agencies reporting record levels of violence.

If Resources Were Unlimited: What Would Treatment Look Like?

Imagine resources were no barrier: every Texan had immediate access to psychiatric evaluation, therapy, and medication. What would that achieve?

Early Detection and Intervention
- Many mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression, present early warning signs. With unlimited resources, outreach teams could identify and treat individuals before crises escalate.
Comprehensive Treatment Plans
- Treatment might combine medication (e.g., antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, antidepressants), evidence-based therapies (CBT, DBT, trauma-focused therapy), housing support, and peer counseling.
Recovery and Rehabilitation
- For some disorders, full remission is possible. Depression and anxiety often respond well within months of treatment. For chronic illnesses like schizophrenia, symptoms can be managed, stability restored, and relapse reduced.
Timeframes
- Depression and Anxiety: 8–16 weeks of consistent therapy and/or medication can achieve major improvement for many.
- PTSD: Evidence-based therapies like EMDR or prolonged exposure often show progress within 12–20 sessions.
- Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder: Lifelong management may be required. “Cure” is not realistic; stability is.
- Substance Use Disorders (often co-occurring): Recovery is long-term and relapse-prone, requiring sustained support.

The reality: even with unlimited funding and willing patients, time itself is the obstacle. Many psychiatric conditions require years of care, often lifelong monitoring. Like prison reform, the dream of “curing” all mental illness is noble but unrealistic. Treatment can help millions live safer, better lives—but it cannot erase the presence of crisis in public spaces.

Why Prevention and Intervention Are Still Essential

If the path of treatment is long, then the path of prevention and intervention is immediate. While better funding is vital, it is not enough. People are still left vulnerable in the moments when violence erupts or fear overwhelms.

Public safety cannot rest solely on:

Staff training (drivers cannot leave their seats).
Police response (often delayed, sometimes escalating).
Clinician availability (which even with investment will take decades to meet demand in Texas).

Instead, safety in daily life requires empowering ordinary citizens—the bystanders, passengers, and neighbors who are present in those crucial first moments.

Empowering the Ordinary Citizen

What is missing from our national strategy is the role of citizens themselves. Just as society teaches CPR or basic first aid, it must now teach “social first aid”:

Bystander Intervention Training
- Ordinary people can learn the “5 Ds” (Direct, Distract, Delegate, Delay, Document) to intervene safely when someone is threatened.
Conflict De-escalation Skills
- Training in calm verbal communication, body language, and nonviolent presence to reduce aggression.
Mental Health First Aid
- Teaching citizens how to recognize panic attacks, psychosis, or suicidal crisis, and respond until professionals arrive.
Citizen Incentives
- Transit agencies could provide free passes or small stipends to certified “travel guardians,” similar to volunteer firefighters or crossing guards.
Legal Protections
- Strengthening Good Samaritan laws to ensure that citizens who act in good faith to protect or de-escalate are shielded from liability.

Beyond Transit: Safer Streets and Communities

The need is not limited to buses or trains. Street harassment, neighborhood crime, and visible behavioral health crises on sidewalks all provoke fear. A culture of vigilance and care is needed:

Neighborhood Guardian Programs: Volunteers equipped with de-escalation training and radios, visible in parks, streets, and transit hubs.
Community Partnerships: Schools, churches, and civic groups teaching young people conflict resolution and empathy.
Urban Design: Safer lighting, open sightlines, and public spaces that reduce opportunities for intimidation.

Psychiatric Perspective: Why This Matters

From psychiatry and psychology we know:

Social support is protective: People who receive help—even from strangers—recover from trauma more quickly and with fewer long-term effects.
Intervening prevents PTSD: Early calming or de-escalation reduces the brain’s encoding of trauma.
Agency reduces helplessness: Training gives people confidence to act, reducing paralysis and bystander apathy.
Calm is contagious: One calm, reassuring person can steady a fearful crowd.

Conclusion: Building a Culture Where No One Lives in Fear

Unlimited funding could treat more people, but treatment takes time—sometimes years, sometimes lifelong. In the meantime, fear stalks our buses, sidewalks, and neighborhoods. The only way to bridge the gap between long-term cure and present safety is to empower ordinary citizens. As with the aftermath of 9/11, airline pilots had to resort to announcements to passengers to be prepared to take action! You see that kind of intervention happening more and more.

Texas, with its high need and resource shortages, should lead by example: expanding treatment, yes, but also equipping its people to protect one another. Free training, incentives for guardians, stronger legal protections, and cultural education could turn strangers into allies, and moments of terror into opportunities for solidarity.

A society where no one lives in fear is not built solely in hospitals or legislatures. It is built in the everyday courage of citizens who refuse to look away—and are equipped to step forward.