Leslie Carpenter

We're starting to see that happen more and more across the country, and we're starting to see states take actions like adding state hospital beds. removing certificate of need requirements to get a new psychiatric hospital built to start to resupplement the need for acute care settings for people in psychosis.

And we're starting to see the acknowledgement that we need more long term permanent supportive housing of various types for people with various needs. And that's all very encouraging.

And we're starting to see the acknowledgement that we need more long term permanent supportive housing of various types for people with various needs. And that's all very encouraging.

And we're starting to see the acknowledgement that we need more long term permanent supportive housing of various types for people with various needs. And that's all very encouraging.

Right. That's the bigger challenge. I call it the sick person in the basement syndrome, where everybody in the house knows that the person is very severely sick, but we can't get them help because they won't voluntarily agree to it. And unfortunately, our laws don't allow us to step in in many states until somebody becomes a danger to themselves or others.

Right. That's the bigger challenge. I call it the sick person in the basement syndrome, where everybody in the house knows that the person is very severely sick, but we can't get them help because they won't voluntarily agree to it. And unfortunately, our laws don't allow us to step in in many states until somebody becomes a danger to themselves or others.

Right. That's the bigger challenge. I call it the sick person in the basement syndrome, where everybody in the house knows that the person is very severely sick, but we can't get them help because they won't voluntarily agree to it. And unfortunately, our laws don't allow us to step in in many states until somebody becomes a danger to themselves or others.

Meanwhile, there's a huge amount of brain damage happening to that person while they're actively in psychosis. So how do we change that? It's twofold. One is changing the laws to allow us to recognize psychiatric deterioration as a reason to allow for involuntary assessment and treatment in the first place. but it's also education to law enforcement, to psychiatrists, to ED doctors, right?

Meanwhile, there's a huge amount of brain damage happening to that person while they're actively in psychosis. So how do we change that? It's twofold. One is changing the laws to allow us to recognize psychiatric deterioration as a reason to allow for involuntary assessment and treatment in the first place. but it's also education to law enforcement, to psychiatrists, to ED doctors, right?

Meanwhile, there's a huge amount of brain damage happening to that person while they're actively in psychosis. So how do we change that? It's twofold. One is changing the laws to allow us to recognize psychiatric deterioration as a reason to allow for involuntary assessment and treatment in the first place. but it's also education to law enforcement, to psychiatrists, to ED doctors, right?

To all the players in the system that the laws, many of the laws, allow us to intervene much sooner than what we currently do in terms of how it's practiced, in terms of how they do that. And so much of that is fed by the bed shortage. So adding more beds and adding more education and to some extent improving the laws

To all the players in the system that the laws, many of the laws, allow us to intervene much sooner than what we currently do in terms of how it's practiced, in terms of how they do that. And so much of that is fed by the bed shortage. So adding more beds and adding more education and to some extent improving the laws

To all the players in the system that the laws, many of the laws, allow us to intervene much sooner than what we currently do in terms of how it's practiced, in terms of how they do that. And so much of that is fed by the bed shortage. So adding more beds and adding more education and to some extent improving the laws

all of those things should allow us to be able to intervene sooner and provide medical care in a way that makes medical sense, not bound so much by the laws.

all of those things should allow us to be able to intervene sooner and provide medical care in a way that makes medical sense, not bound so much by the laws.

all of those things should allow us to be able to intervene sooner and provide medical care in a way that makes medical sense, not bound so much by the laws.

Yeah, it's a really good question. And what I'm excited to tell you is that there are changes in the legal system. In fact, the courts and many of the judicial commissions that are in each of our states being led by the National Center for State Courts They are ahead of us. They are working on improving the legal system's ability to be agile.

Yeah, it's a really good question. And what I'm excited to tell you is that there are changes in the legal system. In fact, the courts and many of the judicial commissions that are in each of our states being led by the National Center for State Courts They are ahead of us. They are working on improving the legal system's ability to be agile.

Yeah, it's a really good question. And what I'm excited to tell you is that there are changes in the legal system. In fact, the courts and many of the judicial commissions that are in each of our states being led by the National Center for State Courts They are ahead of us. They are working on improving the legal system's ability to be agile.

And if somebody has committed a very minor crime, maybe they slept in the wrong place and they got arrested for being homeless and they get taken into jail, right? So the charges like trespassing, allowing for assessments to happen. Okay, why did this happen? oh, the person's mentally ill. Let's divert this person to treatment and drop the charges, right?