this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2023
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To name another specific problem, "closing mental institutions and turning the afflicted out onto the streets" was a neat one-two punch perpetrated by both Kennedy and Reagan. Kennedy's last major thing before taking the plane to Dallas was to sign CMHA and step towards deinstitutionalization. Reagan further exacerbated the problem by closing some of the local facilities that supposedly replaced the system closed by Kennedy.
90% of the current homelessness crisis in major cities is attributable to these policies. The result was generations of mentally ill and addicts traipsing the streets instead of being corralled towards mental healthcare away from general populace.
One good thing. Was recently homeless for several years, lost everything, off meds, suicidal, etc. Since then, been grateful for the programs, help meant for people like me. When you 5150 into psych ward, homeless, I got connected with case manager, helped me get on ssi, Medicare, free psych care, free meds. Most all the shelters in my area work in concert with mental health agencies. They're aware that untreated mental health issues can result in addiction, abuse, and it's a long slow road, you have to put the work in. But generally they know providing temp income, meds, and safe housing is 1st step to help their clients get back on feet. It's a flawed system, not enough money or resources. But the people who've been helping me really are amazing at navigating complex system. Maybe things changed, or I just got lucky with where I live.
Could you elaborate more on the connection between with what Kennedy did and what Reagan did?
I had always thought it was just a Reagan thing.
CMHA apparently means the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, which apparently was an attempt to remove many patients from long term psychiatric hospitals, and have them taken care of in community centers.
From a little checking, looks like it didn't provide enough funding, and kicked the responsibility to states, which largely didn't bother to create the community centers, so it seems like it was essentially the first half of what Reagan finished, and just dumped all the crazies on the streets with no actual support.
So basically Kennedy made the States (instead of the Fed) have to pay for the mental support services, and then Reagan removed the programs all together?