Stern Bill to Establish Right to Mental Health Care and Housing that Heals for Severely Mentally Ill Californians Passes Key Committee

Sacramento, CA - In a 7 to 1 vote, the Senate Health Committee approved Senator Stern s

landmark legislation, Senate Bill 1446, to establish a right to treatment for unhoused Californians

with severe mental illness.



Currently, California as whole faces a major shortage in street level mental health services and

housing options, and despite the City of Los Angeles recent housing settlement with L.A.

Alliance for Human Rights, LA County is still fighting the suit, maintaining that it is doing

everything in its power to he lp address the homelessness crisis. Meanwhile, Governor

Newsom s proposal to establish CARE Courts, which Stern is co authoring, faces opposition

from key civil liberties and homelessness advocacy groups concerned about compelling people

off the streets without sufficient treatment and housing to address their long term needs.



According to Stern, he hopes the legislation will provide a path to resolve these ongoing tensions

by guaranteeing abundant, relentless care and housing from multiple funding sou rces, across a

densely complex chain of responsibility in government: No one living or dying on the streets

cares about jurisdiction. If the city, the county, the state and federal government are unwilling to

come out of our silos, and help each other ou t, our response to this crisis will continue to stall



Dr. Susan Partovi, family physician and medical director of Homeless Health Care LA, testified

to the Committee on her experience triaging the most acute cases on Skid Row: It s my duty to

save liv es, and believe me when I tell you that, I know who is going to die within months and

there is very little I can do because there is nowhere for them to go.



Teresa Pasquini, whose son was just 16 when he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder,

also testified to the challenges find housing that could heal her son, navigating broken mental

health laws, a patchwork of healthcare services, and a lack of beds for people with severe mental

illness: No Mom should ever have to go what I ve gone through, but too many have.