- Category: Involuntary Commitment Barriers, Jail Instead of Hospital
- Tag(s): Anosognosia / Lack of Insight, Co-Occurring Substance Use, Homelessness, Incarceration, Severe Deterioration
- Location(s): CA, San Diego
My story is long. It’s been a 25-year journey with my adult son, diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Substance Use Disorder (Co-Occurring) and a healthy dose of Anosognosia (lack of insight).
By now, I should be able to report that the public behavioral health system has finally created a client-centered compassionate model of treatment for involuntary mental illness care, when needed. But, I can’t..
My son has been homeless and arrested for actions related to his mental illness symptoms more times than most hardened criminals. In this year of 2026, we are still treating mental illness, a diagnosed brain disease not like the medical condition that it is.
The behavioral health system must allow remedies like Conservatorships to save lives. The so-called civil rights they claim to be protecting are actually killing them.
*Each story is shared by someone impacted by untreated SMI, lightly edited for clarity, never for meaning.
THE ASK
The author’s message for legislators:
There are already laws on the books in California to serve those with the most severe mental illness symptoms. Especially those individuals who also live with Anosognosia (lack of insight).
Some counties such as mine (San Diego) operate programs from a voluntary-only mindset.
The individuals who won’t seek services voluntarily are the ones who end up on the streets, jails/prisons, or dead.
We should not have to wait for a person to be a danger to self or others in order to receive immediate care, involuntarily if needed. This is not happening.
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