Despite the confidence he projected about Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom's ballot measure on California's mental health services is leading narrowly.

Prop 1 would fund a $6.4 billion bond, of which $4.4 billion would go to sharply increasing the availability of substance abuse treatment, while the rest would build permanent supportive housing for unhoused folks. Half of that would go to housing for veterans with mental illness or addiction.

  • QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world
    3·
    8 months ago

    Civil rights organizations and advocates for the disabled community opposed the measure and raised alarm bells in 2023 over a last-minute change to Proposition 1 that allows counties to use the bond money for “locked facilities,” where patients cannot voluntarily leave.

    I don’t know how to feel about this. On the one hand, this seems like a clear violation of personal rights. On the other hand, without some sort of detainment mechanism, I don’t see how any program would help drug addicts who aren’t interested in recovery.