(KRON) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal would provide people experiencing mental health and substance use disorders with services to get healthy.
KRON4 spoke with mental health specialists about the new plan.
The two people KRON4 spoke to had very different opinions on the new proposal to force unhoused people experiencing mental illness into treatment, but both did agree that something needs to do be done.
"This kind of care can be absolutely life-saving," said Stanford Professor of Psychiatry Keith Humphreys.
Humphreys says this legislation can help people who may have lost touch with reality.
"They may not recognize that sleeping under a bridge is very dangerous or that they're not eating and they're going to die of malnutrition or they are using substances in a fashion that could take their life."
He says in these circumstances, it is the state's responsibility to step in.
"In other words, you're not violating liberty because the person doesn't actually have any liberty anymore. They've lost track of what's going on."
But Heidi Strunk, who is the CEO of Mental Health America of California, doesn't support the governor's proposal.
"We really want to move away from forced treatment," Strunk said.
She says there is a different answer to this crisis.
"We, instead, encourage the governor and the legislator to fund housing, community-based supports, and services."
But she does say that she appreciates the governor's attention to mental health issues.
"The intention is absolutely there, we need to go about this in a more compassionate way that steers away from forced treatment," Strunk said.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/fhv4YO5
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