Our Mental Health Care System is Unconstitutional
The Oaklandside published a new story on the recently released report by the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division on the mental health resources (or lack thereof) provided by Alameda County. You can read the story here and the DOJ report here . Of particular interest to my fellow neighbors would be the conditions and practices at John George Psychiatric Pavilion in San Leandro: "An average of 1,111 people experiencing a mental health emergency enter John George Psychiatric Pavilion each month and remain there for up to 72 hours. The San Leandro hospital, which is operated by the county, provides care for people suffering nearly all of the acute psychiatric emergencies in the county. Nearly 240 people a month are admitted to inpatient services at the 80-bed public hospital, where they stay an average of 9 days. Some stay for months while they’re treated. Hundreds lasted for more than 30 days in a two-year period in 2017-2019. The hospital’s inpatient unit is used...