> the institutions were shut down by Regan ugh, this old distortion. You're probably referring to the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act which, while signed into law

> the institutions were shut down by Regan ugh, this old distortion. You're probably referring to the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act which, while signed into law by Reagan, was actually co-authored by two Democratic state senators and a Republican assemblyman, following the advice given at the time by the medical establishment - and under pressure from the public - that protections were needed to prevent the inappropriate over-commitment of people into asylums. The result was an "overreaction," and more patients were released than should have been - again, under the advice of medical professionals. [1] However, before this, people were sent to asylums - indefinitely - for reasons that today would seem barbaric. Alcoholics, the mentally retarded, people with anxiety disorders, or simply troublemakers whose families didn't want to deal with them anymore - locked up in asylums and the key thrown away before this legislation was passed. We might be suffering for a lack of mental health services, but over-committing people into asylums seems like the greater evil. The narrative that Reagan got into office and one day decided to boot everyone out onto the street for no good reason is just wrong. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-mental-patients-began.html http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-men...