Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger today released the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s unveiling of his Care Court plan:
“I commend Governor Newsom’s efforts to bring healing to the indigent individuals living with debilitating mental illness on our streets. We need a coordinated and consistent approach to help these individuals, and Care Court is poised to deliver that through the courts system.
Certainly, the onus of providing comprehensive treatment will fall on counties’ shoulders. This will require an investment in resources and infrastructure. I look forward to working through those details when the time comes.
But what’s crystal clear right now is that severe mental illness doesn’t resolve itself. Until we take a firm approach, the homelessness crisis and suffering will continue to grow.
I have spent years advocating for changes to the state’s mental health laws. Care Court provides a new pathway to providing humane services to our most vulnerable population — an approach rooted in today’s reality.
How many times have we walked by someone who is clearly having a psychotic episode, witnessing a crisis without being able to help? It’s time to stop looking away and do something about it.”