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All in all, this is what I think—:
 Violence is not a
reason to give treatment. Danger can be a matter of the
person’s choice or in some cases, as a result
of a person’s mental illness.When it is a result of a person’s mental illness, that must be considered as a mitigating factor and treatment is preferable to punishment. Improvement in law enforcement training and criminal justice practices are imperative, but they are also remedial as both law enforcement and criminal justice comes into play only after the social consequences of lack of treatment have taken a toll on the person who has mental illness. The best solution
would be to prevent the criminal justice action and law
enforcement involvement the first place. This would de-stigmatize mental
illness for the vast majority of people with mental illness who are not
dangerous in the least.This requires augmentations to the entire system, voluntary and involuntary, which are currently now in total crisis in California. One out of two people who need services are not receiving them. But, and here is where some people may disagree, it is not an “either or” situation. We can’t afford to wait until the voluntary services are in perfect shape before we reform the involuntary services. If we do that, those people who are in desperate need of help will continue to be the people the public sees through the eyes of the media and from the freeway overpasses. The stigma caused by this will continue to tar those it shouldn’t. And, improved
voluntary services would prevent some people from
decompensating to the point involuntary services are needed. Voluntary care
is always preferable over involuntary care.Thus both systems .. voluntary and involuntary .. must be improved and immediately. The current system is discriminatory. With no other diseases other than mental illness do we “force” someone to become dangerous before we give help and treatment. .. Carla | ||||||||
| Haven’t been on the board for a long time; glad to see it is still operating and as Gerald proclaimed his respect and love for me publically, I do the same. We can respect and appreciate each other while still disagreeing on some points. This board especially proves it. Thanks! | ||||||||
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