How would you approach this? (Treatment team, homeless guy, erotomania))

I'm going to bring it up with whoever from the team I feel comfortable enough to talk to I see first, but interested in your insight if there's anything I should do or not do when talking specifically to him (you'll see who in a second) if he brings it up before then.

I met this guy at this place that provides breakfast to homeless people and we got off. Turns out he has the same treatment team as me, just sees different people more/less frequently than me. From what I've gathered, he's not allowed to talk to one of the women because he thinks he's in a relationship with her and they're getting married. He kept telling me today that she's depressed, and since he can't talk to her, he asked if I could tell her he loves her. He asked me to call her that second! Of course I didn't and won't.

Now, I know this guy. He isn't in touch with reality (he has schizophrenia obviously with erotomania). He has a big heart, but he's been in the state hospital several times, and having been there myself, I know realistically people usually only go there in extreme circumstances (involuntary admissions for SMI in a majority of circumstances. Right now 3 out of 170 patients are there voluntarily if that says anything.) It also has been years (I don't know, a dozen of them?) since his last involuntary though, and I've considered him safer than anybody else in the environment when I was around him. The mental health center at least knows enough that they've separated them.

I know I'm not going to encourage this belief by playing along, and I know explaining to him it's not real is just going to piss him off and grow distant. I just want to know what more I can do and what I shouldn't do.

I hear you @MuddyBoots - you want to help but being the matchmaker might freak out that lady totally.

My limited experience chatting with people suffering from Schiophrenia is I cannot change their mind so I live in their world and suspend my rational thinking and just listen to them. If he keeps asking you to tell her you might say that is a very emotional thing and you need to find the right time and place to tell her.

He sounds like his heart is in a good place and I would try to just listen. That is my take for what it is worth.

CANDC

[If you want me to see your reply to this post please include @CANDC in your message - not in requoting my message]

Yeah, I do know not quite "suspending rational thinking" but more just not forcing logic on him is something I have to do. I'm not going to tell him to tell her though, haha. I know that'd be an inappropriate relationship regardless of how she feels and I'm not going to say anything that might come across as encouraging it

Can you say something like, thats not what adults do, thats what schoolkids do, tell so and so i like her? Cuz like thats a real answer. And thank you for being kind.

That's a good way of putting it. Gets any responsibility he's trying to put on me off me, maybe there's a small chance he'll realize there's a reason he's not allowed to talk to her.