Families Of The Mentally Ill Call For Better Treatment, Not Better Jails In Alameda County

By John Ramos, CBS San Francisco:

OAKLAND (KPIX) — A group of activists and families dealing with mental illness have taken over the plaza in front of the Alameda County board of supervisors chambers. They are demanding the county put more money into community treatment rather than jails.

Members of Families Advocating for the Serious Mentally Ill (FASMI) set up tents outside the Alameda County building and they plan to stay there until Tuesday when they will ask the supervisors to reconsider spending $300 million to improve mental health services inside Santa Rita Jail. The money is being spent as part of a court settlement over mistreatment of the mentally ill at the facility.

“We want that money to be directed toward community treatment and that includes hospitals,” said FASMI committee member Patricia Fontana. “We need more hospitals and we need better hospitals.”

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