OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 14: Nurit Baruch of the group Households Advocating for the Significantly Mentally In poor health is photographed throughout a rally on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Protestors, a few of whom are sleeping in tents exterior the county Board of Supervisors workplace, held the rally in hopes of accelerating funding for psychological well being care in Alameda County. (Aric Crabb/Bay Space Information Group)
Lawrence Abbott’s little brother, Theodore, ought to nonetheless be alive right now. As a substitute, he died of a treatable sickness at age 57 after an extended battle with homelessness as a result of Alameda County’s beleaguered psychological well being system failed him, Abbott says.
Now, Abbott and different activists are sleeping exterior of the Board of Supervisors’ workplaces in downtown Oakland to attract consideration to the plight of individuals comparable to Theodore. They’re calling for extra sources, particularly conservatorships, in-patient services and different choices for people who find themselves too sick to know they want remedy.
They usually’re decrying the usage of Santa Rita Jail as a default remedy middle, urging county officers to spend money on hospitals as an alternative of incarcerating individuals with untreated psychological sickness.
“My coronary heart is damaged,” Abbott informed the group of protesters Monday as he recounted his brother’s demise. “He may have outlived me, and he ought to have outlived me. He was my child brother.”
Following a protest that pulled in about 100 individuals Sunday, Abbott and 4 different activists pitched tents in entrance of the county administration constructing whereas two others slept close by of their automobiles. They plan to remain there till not less than Tuesday, when they are going to dial into the Board of Supervisors’ assembly to talk about the difficulty.
The occasion was organized by Households Advocating for the Significantly Mentally In poor health (FASMI), an activist group made up of people who find themselves struggling or have struggled to get enough care for his or her mentally sick family members.
Keith Carson, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, agrees with FASMI that extra funding in community-based packages is required, mentioned Melissa Male, a spokeswoman for his workplace.
“Greater than ever earlier than, the county is being very aggressive in integrating psychological well being in every little thing we do to ensure of us don’t wind up in our jails to start with, and get companies on the earliest level,” she mentioned.
Abbott mentioned his household tried for years to assist his brother, who had schizophrenia. Theodore suffered bouts of paranoia and refused remedy, Abbott mentioned. The household ceaselessly pleaded with police to position him on an involuntary psychiatric maintain, however officers frequently declined, claiming Theodore wasn’t a direct risk to himself. When the officers did acquiesce, generally there was no room for him on the hospital, Abbott mentioned. And if Theodore did make it to a hospital for remedy, he’d quickly be launched again to the streets.
The court docket lastly appointed a conservator to supervise Theodore’s care and power him into remedy — and he improved dramatically, Abbott mentioned. However the conservatorship expired after one yr, and the court docket wouldn’t renew it, Abbott mentioned.
Theodore’s psychological well being declined, and he in the end died of a treatable type of leukemia as a result of he wouldn’t present as much as his physician’s appointments, Abbott mentioned — a tragedy that would have been prevented.
By sleeping exterior the county constructing, Abbott appears like he’s getting a style of what his brother went via being homeless on and off for years.
“It’s fairly tough,” he mentioned. “It received just a little chilly final night time, and there’s a number of noise all night time lengthy.”
Now's the time to name consideration to the damaged system, mentioned Jennifer Esteen, a psychiatric nurse working for Meeting District 20. Gov. Gavin Newsom final yr put aside $3 billion to deal with individuals combating psychological sickness, and he needs to spend an extra $1.5 billion over the subsequent two years.
“It needs to be totally different,” Esteen mentioned, “and it needs to be totally different now, whereas they’re deciding how sources shall be invested.”
FASMI member Patricia Fontana worries that Alameda County isn’t making the most of the funding alternatives.
The county acquired state funding final yr for a cellular disaster unit, in response to Janice Adam, spokeswoman for Alameda County Behavioral Well being Care Companies. However county officers didn't apply for an obtainable second spherical of funding that yr, because it “didn't meet the wants of our behavioral well being division at the moment,” Adam wrote in an electronic mail.
Nevertheless, the county intends to use for an additional grant this yr — the state lately made $518.5 million obtainable to construct and develop behavioral well being remedy services. The state is providing one other $570 million to construct and develop care services for low-income and homeless sufferers — which Alameda County officers are contemplating making use of for as nicely.
“We're intently following the supply of varied funding streams and in search of alternatives to boost our methods of care,” Adam wrote in an emailed assertion. “We’re weighing every alternative alongside long-term program want, deliberate service expansions, and community capability to raised serve our neighborhood.”
On Monday, Fontana urged the county to spend money on hospitals as an alternative of Santa Rita Jail. The county in 2020 accredited greater than $300 million to spice up the jail’s behavioral well being companies, which have been below fireplace for a number of years. A current settlement — following a lawsuit over alleged poor situations on the jail — requires the jail to create a brand new unit for individuals with psychological sickness, amongst different modifications. A report by the federal Division of Justice final yr discovered the county for years has didn't adequately deal with individuals with psychological sickness.
“What now we have now, it’s merciless. And it’s not working,” Fontana mentioned. “It’s failing.”