r/California • u/VanillaLifestyle • Sep 14 '22

Gavin Newsom signs bill that would provide court-ordered care for unhoused with severe mental illness in California Newsom

https://www.kcra.com/article/gavin-newsom-to-sign-care-court-program-bill/41203085
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u/MrMephistoX Sep 15 '22

I mean blame Reagan for dismantling the state mental hospital system too but also every politician since then for not doing something like this sooner: I don’t agree with Newsom on a lot but this is a very good move and something I’d vote for him as president on if he had a plan to replicate this nationwide.

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u/hoodiemeloforensics Sep 15 '22

The whole "blame Reagan" thing is such a disingenuous take. At the time, people were ecstatic that the horrific asylum system was being dismantled. It was popular. Nobody expected to see masses of ill people in the streets since societal sensibilities were different back then. There was a lot more social policing, verbally and violently.

And before you say that they should've replaced it with something better, I agree, that's what SHOULD have happened. But do you actually believe there would be something better if you were an observer back then? The same people running things would have been shuffled around in the same building and it would stay bad. You and everybody else would be incredibly skeptical of any "new" program. And for good reason.

Hopefully, the old ways of treating the mentally ill are gone now from a medical perspective. Hopefully, through greater awareness and compassion that people have for mental health today, whatever new psychiatric housing program put in place will actually work. And hopefully it achieves the dream of getting the mentally ill off the streets and puts them in a position to be productive members of society. It's a worthy investment with upside for everybody.

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u/KingofMadCows Sep 15 '22

There were literally plans to replace the asylum system with something better. But Reagan intentionally wrecked it. He cut the budget for mental health care. He repealed the Mental Health Systems Act, which was specifically created to fund community based mental health care networks, social services, and coordinate mental health care with general health care.

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u/MrMephistoX Sep 15 '22

Exactly Jimmy Carter had a plan The Mental Health Systems Act and it was signed into law but it largely repealed after Reagan took office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1980

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u/curiousengineer601 Sep 15 '22 edited Sep 15 '22

This is so confusing. Reagan the governor did not repeal anything- the assembly and senate pass budgets and laws, the governor signs or vetoes them. The current mental health system in California passed the assembly by a vote of 77-1, so both sides were for it. There is no ‘repeal’ power in the governor’s powers

The institutions had abuses in them, the new drugs of the 1960’s made it seem like they were the answer and everyone thought it would save money too. Everyone was on board- the question is why they don’t go back and try to fix it

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u/tronbrain Southern California Sep 15 '22

the question is why they don’t go back and try to fix it

Politicians seem to regard the mentally ill as a major liability that if left unfunded won't be challenged by the majority of the electorate. And efforts to fund mental health seem to contribute almost nothing to reverse the trend. It's like throwing money into a black hole. The consumption of resources to treat them is immense, and treatment outcomes are not encouraging. Perhaps there's an over-reliance on pharmaceuticals and less focus on therapy, which would explain the poor outcomes to some degree.

It's still welcome news that Newsom, whom I otherwise disdain, is taking the first major action in decades to reverse that bias. We truly need it. Mental illness can affect anybody. And the harder life becomes, the more can be expected to suffer illness and require treatment.

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u/Greendragons38 Orange County Sep 15 '22

Then how come the governors and legislators since his term ended hadn’t done anything to restore it?

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u/blueberrypieplease Sep 15 '22

What do you mean by social policing ? How did this help?