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Help for Modesto's mentally ill homeless?

Modesto Bee (CA) - 7/11/2016

July 10--Modesto City Councilwoman Kristi Ah You is calling for Stanislaus County to put into place what is known as Laura's Law to help homeless people who have refused treatment for severe mental illness.

Ah You made her request at last week's City Council meeting, in which she called for more effort on the city's homelessness problem for the good of the community and those experiencing it. Those actions include quickly providing more temporary and affordable housing and a day center that offers counseling, showers and bathrooms, and other services.

"Lastly, I think it is necessary for the county Board of Supervisors to implement Laura's Law," Ah You said in a statement she read at the meeting. "Laura's Law would give our local judges the ability to order our most severely mentally ill individuals to undergo outpatient treatment at the request of a parent or other concerned person. Let's work with the county to bring in Laura's Law so that we can begin getting mentally ill homeless people the care that they need."

Ah You asked for the council to pass a resolution asking the Board of Supervisors to put Laura's Law in place. City Manager Jim Holgersson said in an interview that he will talk with county officials and bring the item back to the council.

Ah You said the city needs to continue to work with the county on Focus on Prevention, a long-term, communitywide effort to find lasting solutions to homelessness, and she praised the work that has been done.

The California Legislature passed Laura's Law in 2002 "as a treatment option for those individuals with chronic and severe mental illness with repeated and recent hospitalizations, incarceration and/or documented acts or threats of serious violent behavior," according to information on the website of the National Alliance on Mental Illness' South Bay affiliate.

"The law provides for court-ordered community-based 'assisted outpatient treatment' to a small population of individuals who meet strict legal criteria and who do not seek voluntary mental health care as a result of their mental illness," according to the NAMI South Bay website.

The law was named for Laura Wilcox, who was killed in a Grass Valley shooting rampage by a man with untreated schizophrenia, according to the website. Several California counties have enacted the law, including San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Kevin Valine: 209-578-2316

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