title:  Here’s Why A Homeless Man Refused To Come Down From A Giant Tree (VIDEO)
text: On March 22, Cody Lee Miller, a homeless man who calls the streets of Seattle, Washington his residence, climbed to the top of an eighty-foot tree.Over the next 25 hours, the city of Seattle watched anxiously as Miller refused all attempts by authorities to coax him down from his perch at the top of the giant conifer.People snapped pictures and took cell phone video, posting to Twitter under the hashtag #manintree.The Seattle Times, Washington Post, Detroit News, USA Today and other media outlets around the country covered the story as it unfolded.Image credit: @VixenRogue via TwitterAt various times Miller threw pine cones and tree branches at rescue workers, as they attempted to coax him down.Watch the video from USA Today on YouTube below.At other times, his behavior seemed even more reckless.Image credit: RT America via Twitter.Toward the end of the day, he built a makeshift bed among the branches where he apparently fell asleep for the night. Image credit: Seattle Times via TwitterMore than a day later, a crowd of onlookers cheered as he finally made his way back to the ground below.Here s video of Miller finally coming down from the tree, courtesy of USA Today on youtube.Once he was safe on the ground, Miller was taken to Harborview Medical Center where he underwent a psychiatric examination. He was then taken to jail, where he was booked on charges of criminal mischief.What prompted Miller to climb the tree in the first place?Aside from obvious mental health issues, KOMO reports that three days before Miller was taken into police custody for the crime of  sitting on the sidewalk  near a Starbucks on East Pike Street.His criminal record suggests it was not the first time he d been arrested for the crime of having nowhere to go. He was arrested more than once in Oregon. The charges included things like criminal mischief, obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct, charges often used by police to criminalize homelessness.If you can t sit or stand on the sidewalk, if you can t sleep on a park bench or in some other public space, where can you go?Maybe you d try to climb a tree, hoping that it would allow you some space to just exist.Of course that s not how it played out in Miller s case. Climbing that tree just brought him all kinds of negative attention.Some, including the police, turned this sad situation into a series of bad jokes.Not everyone missed the seriousness of the situation, though.Many Twitter users posted about the need to improve services for people with mental health issues, as well as for those who are homeless.As KOMO reports, at least one person in the crowd was deeply concerned about the situation.Janice Wilson, who was in town from Crescent City, California, to help her son deal with his mental health and legal troubles, said she was once homeless herself, 30 years ago.She repeatedly shouted up to the man:  We love you! Come down safely! I heard people out here laughing,  she said.  If somebody s in crisis to the point of putting himself at risk of suicide, what s to laugh about? As of November 2015, there were more than 565,000 homeless people in the United States.The city of Seattle is just one of many American cities that declared a state of emergency in 2015, due to the number of homeless people who reside there.While the number of homeless people in Seattle is on the decline, thanks to an increase in wages in the city, for people with physical and mental disabilities, getting a job and  pulling yourself up by your bootstraps  isn t always the answer.With proper treatment the majority of people who experience mental illness do lead normal, productive lives once the condition is treated. But a lack of funding for mental health services all across the country leaves too many people without access to that treatment.According to New York Daily News, Miller refused to leave his jail cell to attend a hearing today.Instead of getting the mental health treatment he obviously needs, it s looking like he will be criminally charged and incarcerated, along with thousands of other mentally ill people in the United States.Featured image via video screen capture KOMO  