To the editor: Rob Whipond believes Senate Bill 43, which expands the definition of severe disability in California to care for the sickest, is too broad. i disagree.
For persons in serious danger of “serious harm”, SB 43 permits involuntary detention. Serious Harm means “significant deterioration, debilitation, or illness resulting from failure to meet one or more of the following conditions”: Meet your nutritional needs. Pay attention to necessary personal or medical care. Use appropriate shelter and dress appropriately. Be aware of self-defense or personal safety. “
Unless it is an emergency, the court should order involuntary treatment. Increasing detention is not the goal. Rather, it is to increase our ability to care for the sickest people roaming our streets.
It is true that multiple 72 hour holds do not improve the condition. However, involuntary care may also be included as an important part of the full-care model for stabilization. An expanded definition of critical disability will also allow people to receive the longer treatment they need to recover.
In addition, as proposed in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s modernization of the Mental Health Services Act, a concomitant increase in funding to house people with severe mental illness would allow them to live in the least restrictive housing. You will be able to
As a street doctor for 16 years, I have had to watch many patients die needlessly. While I advocate increasing care in the least restrictive setting possible, some people need involuntary care to save lives.
Susan Pertvi MD, Los Angeles
I am the Medical Director of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles.
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To the editor: Wipond presents a number of studies on the increase in psychiatric detention across the United States, and in California in particular. There are undoubtedly many cases of abuse of detention for mental health reasons.
But what he didn’t mention was the 72 hours in California, 5150 hold revolving doors of the same people, often repeated over and over again.
Three days is no treatment, just containment. The patient is then discharged, usually with little or no follow-up.
Are there statistics assessing the repeat detention of the most severely mentally ill citizens? This is very helpful in considering a very complex issue.
Catherine Reuters, Santa Monica
The author is a retired psychologist.
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To the editor: Compassionate people are squeezing their hands on how to handle the decidedly unstable street people we see every day.
We know that the mentally ill are only part of the homeless population because of the high cost of housing, but they seem to be the most difficult because they can’t seem to manage their own affairs.
Wipond says mental health detention rates have increased. Based on what we see in LA every day, it doesn’t look like it.
Every day these people have to be somewhere. Now they are on the sidewalk.
Jeff Shawcross, Hawthorne