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Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to create mental health courts in California county which allows treatment for more homeless people with severe mental health and addiction disorder and also forces some of them into care. According to NBC7, many advocates of homeless people oppose the plan, calling it a violation of civil rights.
Gov. Newsom said in a press conference on Thursday, March 3, that he has no intention of rounding up people and locking them up. Rather, he believes the plan would offer a way for people to get court-ordered psychiatric treatment, medication, and housing before they are arrested.
According to NBC7, the new plan will require approval by the Legislature. If approved, all counties will have to set up a mental health branch in civil court and provide comprehensive and community-based treatment to people suffering from debilitating psychosis. Additionally, people do not need to be homeless to be evaluated by a court.
However, NBC7 explains, "But if approved, they would be obligated to accept the care or risk criminal charges, if those are pending, and if not, they would be subject to being held in psychiatric programs involuntarily or lengthier conservatorships in which the court appoints a person to make health decisions for someone who cannot."
Newsom didn't make it clear how much the program would cost, although this year's proposed budget did allocate more money for mental health services. “There’s no compassion stepping over people in the streets and sidewalks,” Newsom told reporters at a mental health treatment facility in San Jose. “We could hold hands, have a candlelight vigil, talk about the way the world should be, or we could take some damn responsibility to implement our ideas and that’s what we’re doing differently here.”