Reagan's policies decimated our mental health system and it has never recovered. People with mental health issues are often on the streets, with no protection from the elements. And we have no protection from them.
The mentally ill were turned out of hospitals, and the hospitals for the mentally ill were closed in the 1970s in New York State, (a) by the State, not the Feds, and (b) years before Reagan became President.
The ACLU has actually had a big hand in creating this ongoing public crisis by winning court cases before stupid judges by championing the “rights” of the mentally ill, making it almost impossible to get people committed who should be committed.
I know this from sad personal experience with an aunt who developed a rare kind of schizophrenia in her 30s; no one could get get her into the hospital where she belonged because she didn’t want to go. Until someone hurts himself or hurts you, it’s almost impossible to get him help if he says he doesn’t want it. It’s a bad situation that has little if anything to do with any President.
Reagan's policies decimated our mental health system and it has never recovered. People with mental health issues are often on the streets, with no protection from the elements. And we have no protection from them.
ReplyDeleteThe mentally ill were turned out of hospitals, and the hospitals for the mentally ill were closed in the 1970s in New York State, (a) by the State, not the Feds, and (b) years before Reagan became President.
DeleteThe ACLU has actually had a big hand in creating this ongoing public crisis by winning court cases before stupid judges by championing the “rights” of the mentally ill, making it almost impossible to get people committed who should be committed.
I know this from sad personal experience with an aunt who developed a rare kind of schizophrenia in her 30s; no one could get get her into the hospital where she belonged because she didn’t want to go. Until someone hurts himself or hurts you, it’s almost impossible to get him help if he says he doesn’t want it. It’s a bad situation that has little if anything to do with any President.