Prop. 2 will provide vital housing funds for the mentally ill
You see them every day: Homeless people with mental illnesses wandering the streets with nowhere to go and no one to care for them.
It’s heartbreaking. Especially for those who understand that mental health disorders are physical diseases little different from heart or bone conditions except in our lack of understanding of how the mind works. Many forms of mental illness are treatable, if not curable, if those suffering can be given secure housing and the treatment and services they deserve.
Proposition 2 is designed to take a serious run at solving that problem. The measure would allow the Legislature to issue $2 billion of bonds to fund housing for homeless people with mental health problems. The money to pay off the bonds — estimated at $120 million a year — would come directly from Proposition 63 revenues, the tax on wealthy Californians that voters passed in 2004 to finance better mental health care.
It’s both a humane and smart use of funds. Voters should give Prop. 2 overwhelming support on Nov. 6.
We opposed Prop. 63 in 2004, when then-Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg proposed what was widely described as the millionaire tax. We called it a noble cause, but felt there should be a direct link between the source of the funding and the purpose of the money. Why should only the rich pay for helping the mentally ill?
The reality today is that the law is on the books, generating between $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion a year for mental health programs. California should make the best use possible of those funds.
Steinberg is giving Prop. 2 his blessing, knowing that building housing for the mentally ill is a proven method of helping improve lives of those who are chronically homeless. It also keeps them out of emergency rooms and jails, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
Steinberg had always intended that a portion of his original Prop. 63 money would go for housing. But a 2006 ruling by the attorney general said the language of the proposition did not specify that intent.
So Steinberg worked with Senate President Kevin de León in 2016 to get the Legislature to pass the “No Place Like Home” initiative, authorizing the $2 billion for housing. It passed by a unanimous vote in the Senate and 70-1 in the Assembly. Opponents then challenged in court the use of Prop. 63 funds for housing, creating the need for putting Prop. 2 before voters in November. Among the few Prop. 2 critics are members of Contra Costa County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness organization. They argue that the funds should continue to go exclusively for treatment programs, rather than housing.
Numerous studies have shown that mentally ill people who gain access to housing that is supported with services not only improve their lives but also substantially reduce their use of emergency departments and scarce hospital rooms designed to care for the mentally ill.
An estimated 25 percent-33 percent of California’s homeless population have mental health problems. Authorizing funds to give them a stable living environment will take them off the streets. It’s the right thing to do. Vote yes on Prop. 2 on Nov. 6.