As cities like San Francisco struggle to reconcile an ever-growing population of people experiencing homelessness with inadequate mental health and substance abuse resources some advocate for conservatorships as a potential solution. But what does that mean?
Conservatorships are when a court takes away a person's right to make decisions about their own health, finances and personal needs. It’s — as you might remember — what happened to pop singer Brittany Spears.
In extreme circumstances, conservatorships can be used to impel someone living on the street into involuntary treatment. But on Tuesday, Governor Newsom passed a bill — SB 43 — loosening restrictions around conservatorship laws.
The bill hinges largely on California’s definition of what it means to be “gravely disabled.” Before Tuesday, “gravely disabled” was defined by someone’s inability to provide their own food, clothing or shelter. But the burden of proof was light, and people could refuse treatment, as long as they stated they had plans to access food, clothing or shelter.
Now, SB 43 has expanded the definition of “gravely disabled” to include people whose mental illness or substance use impedes their ability to access medical care or keep themselves safe. Mayor London Breed and Senator Scott Weiner are among a number of San Francisco politicians who supported the bill.
But how effective are conservatorships for treating mental illness?
Some advocacy groups, like the Coalition on Homelessness and Disability Rights California are opposed to the bill. Organizers say that forcing people into treatment rarely leads to long term solutions, and that the bill will divert resources from community based services and housing to fund for-profit corporations.
Disability Rights California has also argued that many psychiatric facilities are for-profit institutions run by corporations who have big financial incentives to keep patients for as long as they can. This can lead to unnecessarily long stays and poor discharge planning.
The bill will go into effect in January 2024. According to data from San Francisco’s Housing Conservatorship, in October 2022 there were 652 people under conservatorship in the city.
