homelessness

San Diego Homeless Plan Would Force Some Unhoused People to Get Treatment for Mental Health

Homeless advocates say CARE Courts are a bad idea that deprives people of their right

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San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is ready to embrace a bold approach to get unhoused people off the city's streets.

“We cannot simply leave these people on the streets. It is not humane, it is not compassionate," Mayor Gloria said Wednesday.

As part of a statewide program that goes into law in 2023, San Diego will be among seven counties mandated to establish new "Care Courts" starting in October.

They would allow family members, first responders and behavioral health workers to petition the court to treat a person with mental health challenges like schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

“The fact the matter is they're cycling through our jails, are cycling through our hospitals, they're cycling through our behavioral health system and continually ending up back on the street. Here’s an interesting fact to share with you. We did a study recently, our Fire-Rescue department, we spend about 400 staff hours a day responding to behavioral health emergencies in the city of San Diego," Gloria said.

Homeless advocate Michael McConnell thinks the courts are a bad idea and he's highly skeptical of any plan that forces people into treatment.

“There’s not service slots for people now. So this pie-in-the-sky idea and care plan managed by the court and everyone is going to get help, it’s nonsense," McConnel said.

McConnel also cites what he called an ineffective history of institutionalizing people.

The CARE Court program for unhoused people can last up to two years or longer.

If someone in the program fails the court-mandated services they could be recommended for conservatorship, meaning the court would appoint someone to make their personal and financial decisions.

It's an even tougher approach the mayor has been pushing for to help tackle the homeless crisis.

“It’s about acknowledging that there is a portion of our community who cannot care for themselves. And right now we simply choose to look away. I refuse to do that. I think that we have to engage this population because we can't ignore them," Gloria said.

Calling it a "moral obligation," just this week, the mayor of New York City was met with criticism after issuing a similar directive saying they'll treat mentally ill people on the street, even if they refuse.

By 2024, all counties in California are scheduled to have the CARE Courts in place.

"Subjecting unhoused people to forced treatment is extremely draconian, and it would take us back to the bad old days of confinement, coercive treatment and other deprivations of rights targeting people with disabilities. It’s morally wrong, " said Eve Garrow, homeless analyst and advocate at the ACLU of Southern California.

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