Reply to Advice: I had an altercation with a homeless person

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was spit on by a homeless lady years ago (during the Obama administration!) and it was terrible and clear we had a problem with mentally ill homeless then.  It has only gotten worse and the reason for this problem is that mentally ill people are left on the streets to their devices.  This isn’t a DC politician problem but a problem created by Ronald Reagan.[/quote]

Plenty of mentally ill people don't assault others. These are bullies.[/quote]

These mentally ill people, peaceful or not, should not be living on the streets.  Reagan did cause this.  The problem lies in the fact that these sick people cannot be forced into hospitals even by loving family members who want them safe and clean.  No one deserves to live like this.  [/quote]

People this ill need to be institutionalized. [/quote]

I wish people would stop saying this. Being institutionalized is not a magic bullet. I work in an inpatient mental health facility. It is a revolving door of patients in and out. They will receive treatment, stabilize, and get discharged. They leave, go off their meds, commit another crime, and are right back where they started. We can’t hold these people forever. And once they leave, we can’t force them to take their meds. There is really no good answer. [/quote]

Decriminalization has also meant that many who in the past would be jailed for misdemeanors or who might be offered mental health treatment or addiction treatment instead of a longer custodial sentence now are just out on the street with a notice to appear. The sidewalks are functioning as open air psychiatric facilities and jails.

Perhaps drugs are given too much "credit" for behavior change in this era since they cannot be compelled unless in patient. So it's the only "go to" and really isn't one in reality. We used to have long term facilities, but without the laws changing and serious money being spent to create long term alternatives (and there are genuine civil liberties concerns), it's just a never ending cycle until a serious crime is committed and they are held in a prison. When the facilities were closed the idea was that community resources would be created, that did not happen. And without laws that compel treatment, it's all somewhat moot. [/quote]

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