From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Sat, 4 Oct 2025 17:28:40 +0000 (UTC), Counter Point <counter-point@socal.mess> wrote:

In response to Mr. Robert Kahn's June 27 letter on homelessness in the
Conejo Valley, I would like to correct one glaring error that he made.
Mr. Kahn states: "The Reagan administration closed all mental
institutions."

I've heard this myth stated by some politically motivated individuals
before. However, this statement is patently false.

In 1980, under Jimmy Carter, the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 was >passed. This bill provided federal grants to local community mental
health centers. One year later, the 96th Congress, with a Democratic
majority in both houses, repealed the act.

Reagan signed the repeal, which was placed on his desk by Congress, but
he was merely following the wishes of the elected representatives of his >constituents.

Reagan agreed with the majority of the Democrats that it was better to
allow the states to retain control of funding and operations in mental
health institutions.

What Reagan did do, as governor of California, was to sign the >Lanterman-Petris-Short Act in 1972. That bipartisan legislation made >mandatory institutionalization of mental health patients by family
members and civil courts illegal. That way a bad judge or vindictive
relative couldn't have you locked up indefinitely at a state hospital.

The result of that humanitarian legislation was that populations in
state hospitals dropped, but Reagan didn't directly oversee, direct or
cause any hospital closures.

The majority of mental hospitals in California were actually closed in
the late 1990s, when Pete Wilson formed a task force to examine state >hospital operations. The task force found that the populations of many
state hospitals had dropped dramatically and the per-capita costs had >skyrocketed to $114,000 per year.

This led to closures of several facilities, including Camarillo State >Hospital.

So while Mr. Kahn may ask residents to stop demonizing homeless people,
I would in turn ask him to stop demonizing Ronald Reagan.

https://www.toacorn.com/articles/reagan-didnt-close-institutions/

That link is nothing more than someone's opinion, not fact.
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