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We did a great disservice to the mentally ill when we closed (rather than reform) our mental institutions. The mentally ill would greatly benefit from compassio

by jdkee 7y ago

We did a great disservice to the mentally ill when we closed (rather than reform) our mental institutions. The mentally ill would greatly benefit from compassionate custodial care. For those who merely make bad personal choices then enforcement of no urban camping laws by disposing of unoccupied campsites along with the availability of low cost simple barracks type shelters for overnight use should ease the situation without resorting to arrests or fines. Society can be firm and compassionate at the same time. The current situation in some of our cities is intolerable to all concerned.

einpoklum 7y ago
"make bad personal choices" - somehow, people in the US make bad personal choices in direct correlation to government economic policy. And in many other countries almost nobody "makes bad choices". I guess public welfare inspires astute personal choice-making!
merpnderp 7y ago
What option was there to reform? The Supreme Court said people who weren't a danger to themselves or others couldn't be held against their will. I'm all for trying to figure out how to help the mentally ill, but that often comes in the form of treating chemical addiction, which seems to have a long term success rate of around ~10%, a number so low that in a hierarchy of responsible spending, treatment wouldn't make the top of the list.
- asdff 7y ago
  Living on the street is a danger to yourself. Mental illness get worse without treatment, and coupled with a life on the street without intervention, will end up with your death.
aSplash0fDerp 7y ago
Mental illness has been on display in the media 24/7 for quite some time, so functional crazy is not a pipe/pill dream after all.... If any hardworking individuals were given the same accountrements in a high-cost city (permanent housing with housekeeping), there would be a huge waiting list. With a possible impending retirement crisis, able-bodied may not be the best term for qualification. As an aside, recycling is not profitable anymore, but the pre-existing obligations prevent dramatic or even drastic change on that front. This is no different. If I were to throw something on the wall for homelessness, I'd say keep it simple and build 3 new regional cities in the west, central and east with a clean slate design and throw up a sign that says "give us your tired, your poor" and see what happens. That way, several states, cities and counties are pooling their resources/budgets, you give everyone a red/white/blue moment, but in the true American Spirit, you make it someone elses problem overnight (aka. Make it disappear) for something you were going to pay for anyway. If we limit "extreme economy/political/welfare/climate experiments" to only these 3 regional areas, we may actually get lucky and build something resilent enough to be a runway for future generations, while being strong enough to be a safety net for the current gens. I say all of this in jest, but if it becomes a question of millions of old people dying with dignity, instead of homeless in the streets, there will be enough "zeros" to build it (nimby lingo).

by jdkee 7y ago

einpoklum 7y ago

"make bad personal choices" - somehow, people in the US make bad personal choices in direct correlation to government economic policy. And in many other countries almost nobody "makes bad choices". I guess public welfare inspires astute personal choice-making!

merpnderp 7y ago

What option was there to reform? The Supreme Court said people who weren't a danger to themselves or others couldn't be held against their will. I'm all for trying to figure out how to help the mentally ill, but that often comes in the form of treating chemical addiction, which seems to have a long term success rate of around ~10%, a number so low that in a hierarchy of responsible spending, treatment wouldn't make the top of the list.

asdff 7y ago
Living on the street is a danger to yourself. Mental illness get worse without treatment, and coupled with a life on the street without intervention, will end up with your death.

aSplash0fDerp 7y ago

Mental illness has been on display in the media 24/7 for quite some time, so functional crazy is not a pipe/pill dream after all.... If any hardworking individuals were given the same accountrements in a high-cost city (permanent housing with housekeeping), there would be a huge waiting list. With a possible impending retirement crisis, able-bodied may not be the best term for qualification. As an aside, recycling is not profitable anymore, but the pre-existing obligations prevent dramatic or even drastic change on that front. This is no different. If I were to throw something on the wall for homelessness, I'd say keep it simple and build 3 new regional cities in the west, central and east with a clean slate design and throw up a sign that says "give us your tired, your poor" and see what happens. That way, several states, cities and counties are pooling their resources/budgets, you give everyone a red/white/blue moment, but in the true American Spirit, you make it someone elses problem overnight (aka. Make it disappear) for something you were going to pay for anyway. If we limit "extreme economy/political/welfare/climate experiments" to only these 3 regional areas, we may actually get lucky and build something resilent enough to be a runway for future generations, while being strong enough to be a safety net for the current gens. I say all of this in jest, but if it becomes a question of millions of old people dying with dignity, instead of homeless in the streets, there will be enough "zeros" to build it (nimby lingo).