To the editor: You ask how much Proposition 1 will cost for mental health. What about the costs of doing nothing?
What about the costs for a person with a mental illness who has worked with police and firefighters or been compulsorily hospitalized? What happens to the people who languish in our prisons waiting to be judged? There is the prosecutor's time, the court's time, and the public defender's time.
Finally, a person deemed unfit to stand trial must be evaluated and possibly sent to a state hospital. Where is that cost analysis?
I can assure you that these costs are high. My son has been hospitalized over 10 times and treated in state facilities so he can be competent to stand trial.
My son has had numerous interactions with police and fire departments. He is currently in our local jail.
Our lawmakers have finally placed a measure on the ballot to address this crisis. I'm tired of waiting for Godot.
Jamie Harvey, Ventura
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To the editor: We're told Proposition 1 could cost the state up to $14 billion. But I don't see any estimate of the savings to the State if the funds are used well.
We could obtain the following:
Fewer costly visits to emergency rooms and other urgent medical visits. Fewer costly and damaging fires occurred in homeless encampments. More people becoming employable, taxpaying citizens. A decrease in crime and its monetary and personal costs.
So let's remember that the Proposition 1 ledger has two sides.
Alan B. Posner, Santa Barbara
