California mental health care cuts: a cynical attack on the poor

The cuts suffered by the Health and Human Services Department accommodate Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request to slash $55 million from the state budget currently utilized to finance a program called “Integrated Services for Homeless Adults with Serious Mental Illness.”

The Integrated Services cut is a ruthless attack on the most vulnerable layer of society, the mentally ill and the homeless, as well as thousands of families that are faced daily with the consequences of serious mental illnesses and often consequent drug abuse and street life.

The Integrated Services fund was originally provided through California State Assembly Bills 34 and 2034 in 1999 and 2000, respectively. An initial $10 million was allocated to finance 34 local programs to provide housing and intensive support services to homeless adults with serious mental illness or at risk of incarceration. Such services include outreach, supportive housing and employment, reducing and eliminating substance abuse, and mental and physical healthcare, including medications.