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Hekate

(100,133 posts)

18. Saint Ronnie was Governor of California when he did that

Reply to ErikJ (Reply #14)

Thu Jan 17, 2013, 08:36 PM

Jan 2013

It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time: empty out the state hospitals, give the former patients a fistful of those nice new drugs to help stabilize them, and install them in a network of halfway houses. Save lots of money.

The problem was they skipped the second to last part: the halfway houses were never adequately funded at all.

We went from having almost no street beggars/homeless to having a very visible number. The County jails became the de facto mental health facilities as mentally ill were repeatedly picked up for minor infractions and then released back into the wild. Jailers had to be given courses in how to handle the mentally ill (differently from the common criminal as I am sure you can figure out).

It is worthwhile to ponder the meaning of the old-fashioned term "insane asylum." "Asylum" means a place of safety.

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Highlight:

Republicans Who Tout Mental Health As Response To Gun Violence Opposed Landmark Mental Health Law [View all] Fire Walk With Me Jan 2013 OP

This is utterly shocking. Cali_Democrat Jan 2013 #1

I know! When CA Gov. Ahnold (R) voted to cut mental health budgets by 60%, he was trying to help! Fire Walk With Me Jan 2013 #4

Having done without mental health themselves all these years, Jackpine Radical Jan 2013 #19

No one could have predicted that. Scuba Jan 2013 #2

I've Been Waiting For That To Surface HangOnKids Jan 2013 #3

is anybody surprised by this repug stupidity samsingh Jan 2013 #5

Beyond Stupidity They Are Flat Evil and Craven kairos12 Jan 2013 #6

worse than that even samsingh Jan 2013 #20

No But I'm Sure The Pukes Think Everyone Will Be So Impressed HangOnKids Jan 2013 #8

"Accessing mental health services in the U.S. is harder than accessing a gun." yardwork Jan 2013 #7

^^^^^THIS^^^^^ n/t HangOnKids Jan 2013 #9

And guess who's paying for it - not them. freshwest Jan 2013 #15

dismantling the social safety net and then shooting the results is their goal phantom power Jan 2013 #10

To live like kings and queens and the rest of us as terrified peasants? Fire Walk With Me Jan 2013 #13

This can't be overstressed. They used to leave plausible deniability Recursion Jan 2013 #22

"Accessing mental health services in the United States is harder than accessing a gun." etherealtruth Jan 2013 #11

Typical RepubliWanker horseshit Berlum Jan 2013 #12

Didnt Reagan slash mental health/institition funding too?? ErikJ Jan 2013 #14

Yep. A very good point. Fire Walk With Me Jan 2013 #16

Saint Ronnie was Governor of California when he did that Hekate Jan 2013 #18

Yep. And then Republican mayors used the resulting fallout as an excuse to force poor people... Recursion Jan 2013 #21

The country might wake up sane some morning, and then where would we be? Hekate Jan 2013 #17

One kick. Fire Walk With Me Jan 2013 #23

It's nothing but smoke and mirrors LeftInTX Jan 2013 #24

Let's just make it harder for the mentally ill to get a gun! Problem solved! ck4829 Jan 2013 #25