[Leica] Mentally ill and homeless

[grdalton at hotmail.com (Gary Dalton)]

This ball may have started rolling in earnest during Reagan's terms as 
governor of California, 1966-74.

Interestingly, conservative notions about cutting government spending 
combined with emerging liberal notions about human rights, providing 
momentum to reducing the number of people in "society's warehouses."




> From: kididdoc at cox.net
> To: lug at leica-users.org
> Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 07:36:49 -0700
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Mentally ill and homeless
> 
> 
> On Apr 8, 2009, at 7:29 AM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:
> 
> >
> > On Apr 8, 2009, at 3:52 AM, Gene wrote:
> >
> >> I'm not sure why you consider the US opinion of the homeless as  
> >> being ignorant. ?It is certainly the last thing I think of and the  
> >> same goes for most people I know. ? I also do not see it as a  
> >> mental health issue, but more of a economic issue.
> >
> > I'd like to support Chris on this matter, as least as regards many  
> > of New York's homeless. Fifty years ago most of New York's obviously  
> > mentally ill were institutionalized for treatment at considerable  
> > expense to the state. With the concurrent advent of psychologically  
> > theraputic drugs  (tranqulizers, anti depressants, anti psychotics)  
> > and New York City's financial crisis (You remember the headlines.  
> > "President Ford to NY 'Drop Dead' ") the city closed most of the  
> > institutions, opting to treat the ambulatory mentally ill on an  
> > outpatient basis. It was assumed that visits to neighborhood clinics  
> > plus drug therapy would suffice. But the the patients were mentally  
> > ill. They often forgot to visit the clinics and take their  
> > medications. Within a year or two most were on the streets, unable  
> > to find work, living on doorsteps, sleeping over warm air subway  
> > grates. Admittedly there are many people homeless because of  
> > economic conditions but a substantial number of the homeless in New  
> > York are there because of decisions made in the mental health system  
> > a generation ago.
> 
> absolutely true, the term that was used optimistically back then for  
> de-institutionalizing all of these unfortnate people ...
> 
> 
> was mainstreaming,
> 
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > Safety nets and homeless shelters have been put in place but still  
> > many people chose to live out their life on the streets.
> 
> > Larry Z
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

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