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Just so you know: TL-DR

We went from having almost no visible homeless to having an ever increasing number. It was a stark contrast. Did I mention he promised a support structure that never really came about? Supervised group homes. Professionals to monitor meds and ensure they were taken.

That said, in the 1990s when I served on the County Affirmative Action Commission, we went through a series of interviews with department heads, including the Sheriff. By that time I’d already read about the revolving door of mentally ill in the County jails in Los Angeles, our gigantic neighbor to the south, and had some questions.

First and foremost, since TrumpCo. is fixated on crime and severe punishment, I learned that the very great majority of offenses by the mentally ill were petty crime. Shoplifting food items was common. Yes, 7-11 franchisees need to be protected. But the behavior was so chronic and the jails so ill-equipped to deal with it, that a reasonable person might wonder if there were some other means of dealing with the problem. Law enforcement officers and prison guards have specific training, but it doesn’t include higher-level Psychology classes.

Second, so many were homeless and without the means to gain shelter and keep it. If vagrancy is still a crime (have not checked lately) and they keep ending up in jail — well again, jails are not designed to be homeless shelters.

Third — a lot of the homeless turned out to be dual-diagnosis. They might have a drug or alcohol addiction as well. Jails are not built to deal with that either.

Fourth — why would they turn to drugs or alcohol if they were receiving medication? Sometimes the meds are not available. Sometimes the meds have side-effects that make a person feel crappier. Some people (IF they are bi-polar) miss the “high” of their bipolar cycles (as a chronically depressed person myself, I think I can imagine why someone might want that back) . And finally, maybe the side-effects of alcohol or an addictive drug are not enough to deter a person from finding their own way of dealing with their demons. It’s a free country! No one can make them take meds if they don’t want to! They have the perfect freedom as an American to live and die under the freeway — because Freedom.

In my own self defense, please do not ever imagine that I think all homeless are mentally ill. Plenty of people are in danger of falling through holes in what we laughably call the social safety net. There are just so many vulnerable Americans.

Finally, and from the heart: fuck Ronald Reagan forever.