On several forums and blogs such a freerepublic, there have been debates about civil commitment and expanding laws and state hospitals and hospital psyche wards. What is disturbing is that many, even Conservatives and libertarians are more than willing to sacrifice civil liberties and safeguards against government tyranny to clear the streets of the homeless mentally ill and other similar individuals.
But the truth is that there is on the books in nearly every state, provisions that allow the involuntary commitment of those who are unable to care for themselves due to so called mental illnesses that they suffer from are already on the books. They have even been approved of as constitutional by our courts so far and have not been hampered by the ACLU and others.
A good example is projects launched by the administrations of two former New York Mayors; Ed Koch and Rudy Guiliani. In the 80s, Ed Koch launched a program to involuntary commit New York's many disturbed homeless. They ranged from drug addicts to those who suffered from brain trauma. They were to be placed in involuntary treatment and then placed into shelters and transitional housing as well as being assigned case management and other services. One of these homeless known as Joyce Patricia Brown AKA Billie Boggs, with help from the ACLU, nearly succeeded in derailing Koch's efforts. Despite suffering from psychosis brought on from drug addiction and family abuse she succeeded in escaping her treatment and won a settlement. Still, the Koch administration and project care were able to take many homeless of the streets and get them of their feet. Similar efforts by the Guiliani administration also succeeded though not as well as Koch's.
The attempts to involuntarily commit them were deemed as constitutional provided that they were done properly and that the patient was mentally ill and that it prevented them from providing themselves food or clothing and other necessities.
39 states including DC allow involuntary outpatient commitments. One of the most known and effective is California's Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, which had been expanded for outpatient commitment. It did not just encompass those who were a threat to themselves or others but those who as a result of severe mental illness were unable to feed or cloth themselves. I have seen much of this in places like Portland, Boston and New York. Crazy people who are not allowed in homeless shelters because they assault or act belligerent towards others there and the staff, but if offered food or donation will reject and even attack those who help them. They are like wild animals only much worse. Demon possession is a good way of putting it I think.
Remember the Virginia Tech Killer Cho Seung Hui? Virginia residents want to sacrifice more of their freedom to the big government by making involuntary commitment easier. But Cho was already deemed mentally ill, was even deemed mentally incompetent and was even recommended for involuntary commitment! Virginia statutes allowed it but it was never done! For whatever zany or scatterbrained reason, the judges, the medical staff whoever was in charge and the family for that matter allowed this dangerous young man who WAS in fact an imminent danger to run along back to school and then slay his fellow classmates!
It is the opinion of this author that the government deliberately allowed this to happen as a measure of getting the American people to sacrifice more of their precious liberties to the state while as a bonus, gutting the 2nd amendment. So far neither have stopped any killing sprees.
Instead of using the laws already on the books, we let the government set up more laws and more iron chains around the necks of its citizens. Still they will not fair well.
Meanwhile it has come to my attention that several people living with so called mental illness who are perfectly capable of caring for this selves with very little help from taxpayer funded programs are being blocked from independence through unnecessary commitments. Examples include a bright young man named Nate Tseglin of Orange California who was incarcerated and drugged into oblivion for having Asperger's, another concerns Sylvia Klieber, a 29 year old woman with Bipolar under the guardianship of her mother, yet very capable and independent who is currently incarcerated in a hospital in Modesto for no reason. We will commit, drug and restrict even kill innocent people because of minor peculiarities, but we won't commit psycho killers, homeless invalids and others who truly need treatment.
In Conclusion I would just like to also opine that I in no way support the psychiatric industry or the unnecessary use of commitment. We need to be extremely careful with how it is applied.
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Dear President Obama:
I have been dealing with homelessness since my honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1969. I found myself homeless shortly after returning from Vietnam. I was also in and out of homelessness with my two sons in the Eighties, and homeless again on my own in the Nineties.
I started the American Homeless Society in 1987 while my sons and I were homeless in California. I have worked very hard alongside other advocates, and have been in several hunger strikes, marches and demonstrations for homeless rights since the Eighties but have seen little progress to date.
My longest hunger strike was 58 days against President Reagan’s “trickle down” economic policies that created more instead of less homelessness in our country. You have spoken about fixing our nation’s economy from the “bottom up” instead, and that makes more sense.
From the bottom up should mean you are starting at the very bottom of our ailing economy, however. You should start by ending homelessness instead of neglecting the neediest among us like past administrations have done.
Philip Mangano of the Interagency Council on Homelessness has been promoting 10-year plans to end homelessness in major cities across the country on behalf of the Bush Administration these past few years. We would hope and pray you make a similar commitment, i.e., to abolish homelessness throughout our nation in ten years, not just in individual cities because there are far more homeless outside these cities than their urban homeless plans will ever reach.
Why not end homelessness in the entire United States in 10 years, Mr. President? You said, "YES WE CAN!" so why can't we when it comes to ending homelessness? Slavery was abolished in America over a century ago; why not abolish homelessness today?
Homelessness is just as bad as slavery in several ways and worse in others. Men, women and children from all the races, colors, cultures, nationalities, ethnicities, religions and creeds in our diverse society find themselves homeless everyday.
Along with hunger, malnutrition, sickness, disease and premature death, America's homeless are forced to endure harassment, discrimination, persecution and violence in our nation today much like the slaves President Lincoln’s armies fought to free in the Nineteenth Century had to.
America’s homeless face nature's harshest conditions without warm homes or shelter for protection. They lack good food and nutrition, good hygiene, medicine and healthcare, and the good education, training and experience needed to qualify for the dwindling supply of jobs in today’s worsening economy.
Many of America’s homeless are even employed but underemployed and therefore unable to afford existing rentals, while thousands of others are altogether unemployable and have no income whatsoever. How can our great nation permit so many of these poor souls to continue to suffer and die needlessly on our streets and in the wilds?
I joined the Marines to fight for our country so that all Americans could have a better life, not just the rich and well-to-do who are receiving all the bailouts today. There is no justification or excuse for anyone in our nation to be denied housing and other life-sustaining needs, Mr. President.
Please, if you are serious about fixing our nation’s economy from the bottom-up, begin at the real bottom by making a firm commitment to end involuntary homelessness throughout our country in 10 years without further ado.
Sincerely,
Ruben Botello, Founder
AMERICAN HOMELESS SOCIETY
http://sananda.tripod.com/homeless/ahs1.html
We have no need for pyschiatry especially with reguards to involuntary commitment. It is unneccesary and it is causing more people to be disturbed and/or homeless than prevents. As for homeless who are disturbed, they need Jesus in their lives.
We have no need for pyschiatry especially with reguards to involuntary commitment. It is unneccesary and it is causing more people to be disturbed and/or homeless than prevents. As for homeless who are disturbed, they need Jesus in their lives.
Sorry to hear about that Ruben, (assuming your not really that damn troll.) Keep in mind that your homeless situation was the result of a liberal administration by Johnson and by discrimination encouraged by ultra socialists. In the 80s it was because of Jimmy Carter. I see you were also homeless during the Clinton Boom years. So Why is Reagan responsible but not Clinton or Carter or any other darling lib?
How come whenever A Democrat is in office its never their fault when something happens? This guy in the letter admited that he was homeless when Clinton was in the reigns.
How come whenever A Democrat is in office its never their fault when something happens?
Because the Liberal media lies to the public about it. They cover up for the left and them blame everything on conservatives. If Clinton Forces banks to give ponzi loans to welfare bums and they go under, its the republicans fault.
The homeless who are mentally ill are in as much need as the writer of this post who is clearly deluded.
Why am I deluded? Could it be that I tell the truth even if its politically incorrect?
according to liberals, any one who doesn't agree with them is mentally ill.
Exactly! In the USSR, if you disagreed with the government in the slightest way, you were deemed mentally ill and incarcerated in an institution. That's if they didn't shoot you first. Liberals in America are the same way.
How come whenever A Democrat is in office its never their fault when something happens? This guy in the letter admited that he was homeless when Clinton was in the reigns.
Because whenever a Dem is in charge the homeless disappear and go into hibrination until a republican is elected?
Seriously, we have had almost the same amount of homelessness when Clinton was in charge and when Bush was in charge. Bush isn't even conservative he's retarded.
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