Pass bills to help get mentally ill off streets
Regarding “Opposition may kill bills to address mental illness” (Bay Area & Business, June 26): My son is 38 years old and has spent the past 14 years living on the streets. He has been assaulted, arrested and almost died three times because of his untreated mental illness.
These groups that oppose any efforts to improve our failing system do not understand psychosis, and they should not be allowed to stand in the way of desperately needed changes. They have been pushing back for decades against any reforms to a system that has created desperate situations for families. If we keep listening to the same voices we will have the same failures.
It’s time to listen to families who have lived with the consequences of withholding medically necessary treatment.
What are the rights are opponents to these measures protecting? The right to sleep on the sidewalk and eat out of garbage cans? The right to hear voices that threaten and torture them? How about instead providing them with the right to receive life-saving interventions?
Patricia Fontana, Berkeley
COVID advice unclear
Regarding “How to coexist with COVID” (Insight, June 26): From someone who is trying to be responsible and navigate with family, friends and work colleagues through these times in public spaces, I am left not fully understanding Dr. Monica Gandhi’s recommendations.
The doctor is not recommending masking generally (also stating that it is not demonstrated that masking was effective the past two years) nor continuing symptomatic testing and self isolation. I am happy that only two people died in San Francisco in June. Yet this is little comfort to four close friends and family who became very sick in May, all fully vaccinated and boosted, who each required over a week to recover.
Dr. Gandhi has no clear road map for individuals, families and people returning to work and school. I would like this opinion piece balanced by other medical professionals — maybe including Dr. Bob Wachter. Political satirist Bill Maher is going to broadcast these opinions broadly and this may further erode confidence in U.S. public health policies.
Lee Moulton, San Francisco
Disclose crisis offerings
Regarding “Bonta warns consumers on crisis pregnancy centers” (News, June 26): I appreciate the coverage of Attorney General Rob Bonta’s warnings about pregnancy crisis centers that mislead women to think that they can get abortion services there even though they don’t actually offer them. Instead, the centers attempt to dissuade women from getting abortions, often through misinformation.
Existing consumer protection laws don’t seem to have curbed these centers’ mendacious conduct. How about a law that mandates full disclosures of all reproductive health care services offered — and not offered — by businesses that purport to offer such services?
Ruth Borenstein, San Francisco
Stop investments in oil
Regarding “Pension systems to continue investing in fossil fuels” (Bay Area & Business, June 26): I’m a 10th-grade chemistry teacher at Washington High School in San Francisco and teach climate change as part of our curriculum. I was disappointed that SB1173, which would have forced the state’s two biggest pension systems to divest from fossil fuel companies, has been killed.
When I teach about climate change, I find that there is very little question among students about whether climate change is “real.” The question is instead, “What are our leaders doing about it?” and “Why haven’t adults done more to address it over the past 20-plus years?”
While concerns about the financial health of our retirement systems are valid, shutting down the debate without even hearing the arguments, particularly from our youth, is not the right approach. We need to urgently consider and debate all options to address this crisis.