To the editor: Visitor contributor Clemens Hong states, “Many individuals stabilize with housing and therapy” (”Keeping mentally ill Angelenos in jail doesn’t help anyone,” Aug. 13).
Many, however not all.
No point out is fabricated from the hundreds of people who find themselves so irretrievably damaged that there is no such thing as a hope for them on this world. For such individuals, a everlasting, secure facility that treats them with compassion and dignity is crucial and needs to be out there in any civilized and caring society.
We had such a facility in Camarillo State Hospital: a everlasting, long-term facility that operated for greater than 60 years earlier than closing in 1997 as a consequence of financial challenges, in addition to new instructions in psychiatric developments which have largely confirmed futile.
SB 1373 might result in extra mentally unwell individuals ending up in jail; nonetheless, many family members of those individuals will get a uncommon good evening’s sleep understanding that they’re off the streets and at the very least secure and fed. No small factor.
Elizabeth Alexander, Ojai
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To the editor: Pushing tough-on-crime measures reliably advantages bold politicians however, significantly because it pertains to the intersection of psychological sickness and legal justice, is failed public coverage. AB 46 and the proposed SB 1373 ignore many years of realized expertise establishing that offering therapy to incarcerated mentally unwell people is inexpensive, extra humane and serves public security.
Mitch Bruckner, Newhall
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To the editor: Thanks to Hong for his op-ed piece on latest and pending laws that current new obstacles to diversion. I hope legislators learn this piece and heed his perception that biking the mentally unwell by way of the jail system doesn’t assist anybody.
I might additionally emphasize that this strategy will increase the danger of hurt to everybody and wastes treasured funding that’s higher invested in therapy. Diversion packages will not be excellent, however creating obstacles to them and rising incarceration in jails that aren’t geared up to deal with the mentally unwell is solely a worse course. It fails to supply an answer for treating the psychological sickness that’s the supply of a lot legal conduct.
Maybe the legislators who assist this counterproductive laws ought to go to the jails and observe how the mentally unwell are handled — or relatively, not handled. Making an knowledgeable choice might result in laws that really promotes societal security.
Terry Shenkman, Culver Metropolis
