A Personal Case for Conservatorship Law

Crime Laws

Jun 3

Written By Guest User

Stop Crime SF President Frank Noto and his brother.

Dear President Yee and Supervisors:

Please show your heart!

The board of directors of Stop Crime SF urges your support for the Housing Conservatorships Ordinance, which will establish conservatorships to help those suffering on the streets from the most severe forms of mental illness and addiction.

For me, this legislation is personal. My brother committed suicide at the age of 25 after suffering from mental illness and drug abuse and repeatedly refusing medications and treatment for several years.

Put yourself in the place of my family: Can you imagine how heartbreaking it would be for your family to try to cope with the terrible deterioration in health, mental torture and utter loss of human dignity a psychotic family member endures?

The conservatorship ordinance to be discussed by the Board has strong due process and civil liberties protections. It requires the person with mental illness to have been put in a "5150" psychiatric hold eight times in a calendar year. And a thorough clinical assessment is required for every case. That is a very high bar that is estimated to impact only four to eight people per year in San Francisco.

We are not trying to put people away. We are trying to give them the care they need. They cannot take care of themselves without treatment and are in danger of dying, being raped or assaulted, or harming others.

As President of the Board of Supervisors with responsibility for passing a budget, you don't need me to tell you that this ordinance will save taxpayer money spent on police, jails, emergency room visits and other costs. But the primary reason for this ordinance has nothing to do with money, but rather for San Francisco to deliver on its promise to be a truly humane city in the spirit of St. Francis, not a city blinded by ideology from helping its most vulnerable residents.

You also don't need me to tell you that mental illness is a topic of serious interest among your San Francisco constituents who are tired of watching people deteriorate before our eyes on city streets and sidewalks. We are also watching to see if the Board of Supervisors shares our concerns.

We hope you will vote to approve this ordinance.

Sincerely,

Frank Noto

President

Stop Crime SF

Contact Your Supervisor:

District 1 — Richmond

Sandra Lee Fewer

Sandra.Fewer@sfgov.org

District 2 — Marina

Catherine Stefani

Catherine.Stefani@sfgov.org