From: "Rich Gauszka" 

Closing the mental health facilities definitely had an affect on the
homeless population. I see it every day on the downtown streets.

It isn't the only problem as you point out but it did exacerbate the
mentally ill roaming the streets problem.


"Gary Britt"  wrote in message
news:44263f61{at}w3....
> That's likely not the source of the problem.  Prior to the 70's vagrants
> and
> the mentally ill could be forced into hospitals and work residences.  They
> had a place to eat and sleep, a place to work or find work from, and it
> kept
> those capable of returning to society and caring for themselves from
> falling
> out of the system and becoming permanently homeless.  From the 70's
> forward
> various lawsuits etc. resulted in it becoming illegal to force homeless
> vagrants to take up residence in a county poor house and it became illegal
> to force the crazy to take their medication.  So closing mental health
> facilities in the 90's would have had zero affect on the homeless
> population, most likely.
>
> Gary
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:44256762$1{at}w3....
>> In Michigan our previous Republican governor John Engler closed down many
> of
>> the public mental institutions and those in need were thrown into the
>> streets.
>>
>> There have been *errors* on either side of the political spectrum with
>> the
>> one unfortunate result that many helpless individuals have been thrown
>> out
>> into the street.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Gary Britt"  wrote in message
>> news:44255e95$1{at}w3....
>> > There would be no need for dumping if the
"liberals" in their infinite
>> > wisdom and compassion hadn't forced the closure of county residences
>> > for
>> > people who would otherwise be homeless.  These people have been
>> > "liberated"
>> > to continue their drug and alcohol lifestyles of dysfunction and
>> > non-gainful
>> > employment, and can no longer be forced to accept government/county
>> > housing
>> > and treatment.  As a result the number of homeless exploded.  Private
>> > hospitals nor the public in general have any obligation to provide
>> > these
>> > people free health care and free housing in the form of a hospital bed
>> > that
>> > is otherwise needed for patients in need of medical care and not in
>> > need
>> > of
>> > a county work farm.
>> >
>> > Gary
>> >
>> > "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:4424baff{at}w3....
>> >> No national health care needed here as dumping is cheaper
>> >>
>> >> http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/24/D8GHV8KO5.html
>> >>
>> >> Authorities are examining a surveillance tape that shows an elderly
> woman
>> >> wandering Skid Row in a hospital gown and slippers as
they investigate
>> >> the
>> >> practice of hospitals and police agencies dumping homeless people
>> > downtown.
>> >>
>> >> Carol Ann Reyes, 63, of Gardena, was taken from a Kaiser Permanente
>> > hospital
>> >> in Bellflower on Monday to the downtown area known as Skid Row,
>> > authorities
>> >> said.
>> >>
>> >> A surveillance camera outside the Union Rescue Mission showed Reyes
>> > walking
>> >> from the direction of a taxi that had just driven away.
She wandered
> the
>> >> street for about three minutes before a mission staff
member brought
> her
>> >> inside.
>> >>
>> >> City officials have been looking into the alleged dumping
of homeless
>> > people
>> >> in Skid Row, a ramshackle area downtown.
>> >>
>> >> Several hospitals have acknowledged that they put some discharged
>> >> indigent
>> >> patients with nowhere else to go into taxicabs headed to the area
> because
>> > it
>> >> offers a chance for getting services and shelter. Los
Angeles police
> also
>> >> are investigating whether other law enforcement agencies
dump people
>> > without
>> >> anywhere else to go downtown.
>> >>
>> >> "We have been looking into homeless dumping for some
time, and this
>> >> (tape)
>> >> gives us another example of what has been going on,"
said Frank
> Mateljan,
>> > a
>> >> spokesman for the city attorney's office.
>> >>
>> >> Diana Bonta, vice president of public affairs for Kaiser Southern
>> >> California, said the hospital attempted to find a shelter
for Reyes,
> but
>> >> when that failed, it was determined that she would be taken to the
> Union
>> >> Rescue Mission. Hospital officials are trying to find out
why Reyes,
> who
>> > was
>> >> in the hospital after suffering a bad fall, was left on the street
> still
>> >> wearing her hospital gown and slippers.
>> >>
>> >> The incident violated hospital policy and will not occur again, she
> said.
>> >>
>> >> "We have a policy of treating our patients with
compassion and care,"
>> > Bonta
>> >> said. "This should not have happened."
>> >>
>> >> Andy Bales, president the Union Rescue Mission, where
Reyes remained,
>> >> said
>> >> the incident was the third in the past week in which
security cameras
>> > caught
>> >> taxis dropping people in the area. The problem will
continue until a
>> >> coordinated discharge plan between hospitals and shelters
is created,
> he
>> >> said.
>> >>
>> >> "We just can't drop people off like baggage,"
he said. "We can't have
>> >> a
>> >> society where these people have nowhere to turn when they
need care."
>> >>
>> >> State Sen. Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles, a Democrat, has introduced a
> bill
>> >> that would prohibit any arresting agency from taking
people who need
> drug
>> >> treatment, mental health services or shelter outside their
> jurisdiction.
>> >>
>> >> Los Angeles County officials are also considering establishing five
>> > regional
>> >> homeless centers in an attempt to reduce dumping, the Los Angeles
>> >> Times
>> >> reported Friday.
>> >>
>> >> The regional homeless centers plan would spread the
responsibility of
>> > caring
>> >> for the homeless to suburbs instead of concentrating it
downtown, the
>> >> newspaper said. Each 30-bed center would operate 24-
hours a day and
>> >> would
>> >> accept people from hospitals, police and care providers. The goal
>> >> would
>> >> be
>> >> to find the resident permanent housing and services such as mental
> health
>> >> and substance abuse treatment, officials said.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5