Homelessness: Mental health care severely lacking

Recent articles by TNT columnist Matt Driscoll related to positive attempts to address homelessness in Tacoma are still missing a crucial link.

It is essential to separate this crisis into three categories: the least dysfunctional and most promising individuals who are receptive to help, alcoholics and opioid addicts, and the mentally ill.

The !atter two categories are the most difficult to address and often the most resistant to treatment. There must be resources in the community to remove these people from the street, often against their will, and place them in residential treatment centers where rehabilitation is possible and often successful.

Every metropolitan area needs a hospital for the mentally ill separating the criminally insane from those suffering from treatable mental health issues.

It is inhumane and reprehensible that Western State Hospital has been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that patients, employees, families, law enforcement and the community are now hostage to sometimes diabolical behavior.

We fund trips to outer space and ignore spending money on the safety of our earthly space.

This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Homelessness: Mental health care severely lacking."