Letter: Police must step in

It would be cheaper and it would make more sense but we need to make other cuts while we are at it.

Sign me up as one that totally supports a new mental health system. The cost in the long run will be cheaper than what we are doing now which is obviously not working. We also see this in many aspects of health care. The idea that folks can be contributors in the exercution of health care through home care does not always work, unless you give each mental patient a 24 hour nurse that will be there and make sure they take their meds, got to doctors appts and get involved in support groups. The sad truth is that many mental patients who stop taking their meds do it repeatedly. And that can lead to sad events, like the police and the mental patient having an incident were he can end up shot. Teachers, Police and Parents are not experts in mental health. Asking them to be is naive, costly and dangerous.

Outstanding !!!!! Well said Rabbit !!! Hope you are well, have a great day !!!

If we had a robust state hospital, there would be no homeless. Liberals, coming down on the side of patient rights for the mentally ill, turned them out into the streets in the 1970's. Good job!

In your comment below (there wasn't a reply button): "many of these people should be hospitalized and in the past, most were......... in Newtown....The shooter would have been a patient of the state, not living at home and dysfunctional." I know a family where the husband came down with early onset Alzheimer's and was rapidly becoming more and more violent. He was sent home from the hospital because his private insurance benefits ran out. Then his sister came to help out and he killed her. I also know someone with bipolar who has to take meds. Once in a while the person decides to stop taking the meds, then goes to jail for doing something crazy, then goes to court , then the professionals are called in to analyze, then goes back to court, then goes to the hospital, then goes back on the meds, then back out into the community until the next episode. I wish there could be a confidential hotline for reporting when someone stops taking their meds and starts behaving oddly - the hotline might prevent some of the costly craziness. Either that or they need to be checked on weekly. And when someone needs to be hospitalized they shouldn't be sent home when their benefits run out. Otherwise we should go with your statement "many of these people should be hospitalized" and be willing to pay for it.

We are paying more not having a robust state hospital. Outpatient care, subsidies for housing, repeated incidents of not taking meds and the carnage that ensues is far more costly than mandatory state hospital time for those who need it.

And conservatives cutting mental health funding buried it IAR. Are we in agreement that we need to properly fund mental health if we are to help people who need it? Or are we to continue treating it like we do our bridges? With temporary 2x4's and fish nets?

The ACLU was behind patients rights for the mentally ill, hence, we have homelessness where many of these people should be hospitalized and in the past, most were. However, this community mental health system crap is not effective and it breeds the kind of violence we saw in Newtown. The shooter would have been a patient of the state, not living at home and dysfunctional.