“But she says there is no institutionalizing people like that anymore, “thanks to your hero Reagan.””
First, Reagan did not close any mental health institutions, but many liberal governors and legislatures in the 1980’s did. They money was unlawfully funneled to ‘education’ even though it was provided by the federal government for long term care.
Second, there are long term care facilities that take in the mentally ill, but once the mentally ill become mentally stable with the right medications they leave the facility by signing themselves out. They have that right.
They quickly end up homeless because they stop taking their medications and become unstable once again. Rinse, repeat this cycle of mental illness -> vagrancy -> arrest -> institution -> stability -> sign out -> mental illness.
The wife runs mental hospitals. She sees this every day.
What can you do: Nothing. There are no ‘prisons’ to hold the mentally ill unless they commit serious crimes and are actually imprisoned. No one can force meds on these people with any reliability. They become stable and then gain rights, which then leads to them not taking their meds.
But some stay on their meds.
My mom has stayed on her meds for 35 years. She’s 90, and she had an antique shop until Covid 2 years ago.
She only had one real bad breakdown after my dad almost died. She got on meds, and is great!
I think she is the exception.
“What can you do: Nothing. There are no ‘prisons’ to hold the mentally ill unless they commit serious crimes and are actually imprisoned.”
Nowdays even prisons for serious crimes are disappearing.