I see a lot of misinformed takes in here and this is a very nuanced topic. However unless you actually work in services interacting with mentally ill and homele

I see a lot of misinformed takes in here and this is a very nuanced topic. However unless you actually work in services interacting with mentally ill and homeless people you likely have a very skewed idea of how things work. I know I certainly did before I became involved. Washington state has what is called ITA (involuntary treatment act) which is used for holding people in mental health facilities temporarily. These people are placed there after a DCR (designated crisis responder) performs an evaluation on the person. I work in an ED in a busy city hospital. We have a constant stream of psych patients coming in. Not all of them end up on ITA. Some times they just need to go through a 72 hr hold in the ED and detox and are fine to be released. Other pts coming in every week , they’re too unstable to live in a shelter but not enough of a danger to themselves or others to be sent to a mental health facility. The social workers at the hospital are the ones who make these decisions to place pts on holds. They are not tyrants with power trips. These are people who have Masters in psychology and licensed in the state. They’re incredibly empathetic people working a job that is massively underpaid compared to their private sector colleagues. Some of these pts are absolutely unable to care for themselves but again can’t get into shelters because they are behaviorally nondirectable so their only recourse is to live on the streets. Pts get ITA and sent off to facilities but after 30 days they’re released back on to the street only to end up in crisis again and back in the ED to start the process again. We have one regular pt who cuts himself every time he gets released. His legs and arms are covered in scars. He isn’t capable of taking care of himself but he doesn’t stay sober enough to live in a shelter so he’s in the ED every week until something bad enough happens that he gets ITA and sent to a facility again, rinse repeat. There’s no where for most of these people. There is no long term facility for people who are not able to care for themselves and function in society. When I worked at homeless shelters before the hospital I’m at it was a mess. There’s no help for people who want to get sober. You’re thrown into a barracks style room mixed in with sex offenders, users, elderly, mentally ill, there’s no separation and there’s no services to help people so you see them relapsing constantly. There’s usually encampments outside the shelters so those trying to get clean can’t even go outside without being triggered by the surrounding people using openly and selling to those living in the shelters. It’s really hard to be sober and get your shit together living in a shelter. This is just a scratch of the surface. It’s so much more complex and nuanced than what you think.