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"Mentally ill homeless" - have been there since Reagan deinstitutionalized the mentally ill and cut funding for mental illness. The problem has just only gotten

"Mentally ill homeless" - have been there since Reagan deinstitutionalized the mentally ill and cut funding for mental illness. The problem has just only gotten worse over time. I remember friends going to San Francisco in the 90's and saying it was awful and they'd never go back. All that to say, this problem has existed for decades. It doesn't explain the recent drop in foot traffic which is largely caused by people no longer going to the office. Getting around in SF isn't the easiest thing to do and if you don't have to go downtown then you're probably not going to. This scenario is playing out in downtowns all across America.

RestlessMind 3y ago
> since Reagan deinstitutionalized the mentally ill and cut funding How long are we going to blame Reagan? Democrats have supermajority in California since 2011-12 ballot reforms, and hypermajority in SF. It's not for a lack of funding neither as SF has spent billions[1] so far. So blaming it on Reagan and funding is just lazy and dishonest. [1] 1.45B per https://abc7news.com/sf-homeless-plan-housing-all-san-francisco-supervisor-rafael-mandelman/12760671/ https://abc7news.com/sf-homeless-plan-housing-all-san-franci...
- emaginniss 3y ago
  Looking at it from a nationwide perspective, there were two watershed moments in mental health treatment in the late 20th century. The first was in the 60's when JFK (whose sister had been savaged by the mental health institutions) signed legislation changing the requirements for commitment to be "posing a danger to oneself or others." This was a change from the metric of "mentally unfit to live independently in society." The second was in the 80's when Reagan and the Democratic-majority congress defunded and shuttered many of the state-owned mental health facilities. This was a bi-partisan effort by the Republicans, who hated spending money, and the Democrats, who hated how poorly run the facilities were. Nobody has had a really good solution for mental health care in the US since those happened and, as the parent post points out, it is unfair to paint this as "Reagan defunded mental health care."
- funmi 3y ago
  Might just be me, but I didn’t read the above comment as blaming Reagan but rather pointing out that widespread homelessness isn’t a new issue, and the absence of regular foot traffic in that particular neighborhood is a bigger contributor to its current state.

RestlessMind 3y ago

> since Reagan deinstitutionalized the mentally ill and cut funding How long are we going to blame Reagan? Democrats have supermajority in California since 2011-12 ballot reforms, and hypermajority in SF. It's not for a lack of funding neither as SF has spent billions[1] so far. So blaming it on Reagan and funding is just lazy and dishonest. [1] 1.45B per https://abc7news.com/sf-homeless-plan-housing-all-san-francisco-supervisor-rafael-mandelman/12760671/ https://abc7news.com/sf-homeless-plan-housing-all-san-franci...

emaginniss 3y ago
Looking at it from a nationwide perspective, there were two watershed moments in mental health treatment in the late 20th century. The first was in the 60's when JFK (whose sister had been savaged by the mental health institutions) signed legislation changing the requirements for commitment to be "posing a danger to oneself or others." This was a change from the metric of "mentally unfit to live independently in society." The second was in the 80's when Reagan and the Democratic-majority congress defunded and shuttered many of the state-owned mental health facilities. This was a bi-partisan effort by the Republicans, who hated spending money, and the Democrats, who hated how poorly run the facilities were. Nobody has had a really good solution for mental health care in the US since those happened and, as the parent post points out, it is unfair to paint this as "Reagan defunded mental health care."
funmi 3y ago
Might just be me, but I didn’t read the above comment as blaming Reagan but rather pointing out that widespread homelessness isn’t a new issue, and the absence of regular foot traffic in that particular neighborhood is a bigger contributor to its current state.