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| '[Mental Health Court] Better Than Jail' |
| By San Francisco Examiner |
| Published: 03/05/2003 |
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For John Chee, manic depression has made his life a long, draining traipse through hospital wards, a crowded county jail and treatment centers. It also has made him a criminal. Now a new 'mental health court' in San Francisco aims to get Chee and other mentally ill offenders into treatment instead of jail. Chee, 32, was one of the first people to attend Behavioral Health Court when it opened last week. Chee, who asked that his real name not be used, was charged with defying a restraining order filed by his older brother after Chee became aggressive when asked to leave his brother's home. Judge Ksenia Tsenin dispensed advice, wisdom and kindness to the four clients who came through the courtroom Wednesday. The offenses varied from Chee's case to one man's busy rap sheet that included burglary, felony assault, a misdemeanor of receiving stolen property, possessing drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor auto theft. That man remained in custody as court officials decided whether he was eligible for the program. City social workers have eagerly greeted the new court, saying that although Reagan-era deinstitutionalization was intended to integrate mentally ill people with the community, it fell short of providing psychiatric services on the street. Beds have closed at state facilities and not enough community-based services have replaced them, leaving many people floundering and homeless, they said. Belinda Lyon, interim executive director of the San Francisco Mental Health Association, said that while the court was a positive idea, she hoped it didn't mean that The City was becoming more focused on treating criminal offenders and putting less thought into how to treat people with psychiatric problems before they committed crimes. 'There are a lot of questions,' Lyon said. 'Where are people going to be treated? The mental-health programs are jammed up pretty heavily, so where are they going to go?' Already, the San Francisco County Jail Psychiatric Division has become the largest provider of outpatient care in The City. As for the actual administration of the court, Lyon is concerned that clients would be compelled to take medication on a judge's order. The court is voluntary, and once a client has agreed to take part in the court, rather than go to jail, that person is obliged to take any medication considered necessary. Lyon said the best rehabilitation for mentally ill people was entirely voluntary treatment, in which medication is not mandatory. That's also the view of Judge Stephen Manly, who founded the mental-health court in Santa Clara County. On Wednesday, Chee was ordered to undergo treatment that includes counseling and life-skills training at a facility on Seventh Street, whose operators share The City's philosophy of avoiding incarceration for the mentally ill. Chee thinks that Behavioral Health Court is a good opportunity for him and hopes he either can get the skills for a job in computers or clerical work or at least save some money to find his own place. The welfare safety net, meanwhile, is keeping him aloft. The program is paying three months' rent at the Tenderloin hotel where he bunks down, and he gets $760 a month in Social Security, which he hopes might be enough to cover the rent and living expenses when he finds his own place. 'If I start working, they will take away my check,' he says in an appraisal of his life choices. 'I think I'm lazy. I don't like to work that much.' Sitting outside Department 22, Chee knows he has a long way to go, and perhaps the hardest part is the loneliness he so often feels. 'My brother doesn't want me anymore because I'm grown up,' he said. 'I would like to get into my own place and learn some life skills. This court treats me well -- it's better than jail.' For Chee, The City's bureaucracy is picking up, as best it can, where the family unit left off. 'I think my family still loves me,' he said wistfully. |
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