“I would say that the seriously mentally ill are among the most disenfranchised and marginalized members of society,” said Dr. Paul Linde, author of Danger to Self, in his recent Commonwealth Club talk. At any one time, he continued, there are 38,000 people with serious mental illness living on the streets in California.
As an emergency room psychiatrist at San Francisco General Hospital, Linde sees many homeless patients with mental illness, some of whom are asking for help, and others who are brought in against their will. In the talk, Linde explores the history of mental health policy in California, and illustrates the psychiatric ER saying: If you want to stay, you have to go, but if you want to go, you have to stay.
Listen to Paul Linde’s Commonwealth Club talk.
