About the editor: Dr Margot Kushel’s quote on the bigger problem, the lack of mental health resources, in Sp.

SB 43 author Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman’s (D-Stockton) energy could be better spent increasing federal funding for mental health care. The for-profit system we have encourages hospitals to release patients early and doesn’t give mental health professionals time to treat people. We need more robust funding for treatments and services to address this.

Eggman’s suggestion that the redefinition of “severe disability” will not affect Californians’ procedural rights in conservatory hearings is nonsensical. The definition is the most important element in the jury instructions for conservators.

Dr. Kushel and those fighting for more resources on the ground are understandably skeptical of this approach. Making it easier to retain people doesn’t improve patient care or outcomes, which should be the focus.

We don’t need more judges and lawyers to deal with these cases. We need full funding for mental health care with early detection and support for patients and families.

Karl Fenske, Los Angeles

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About the editor: SB 43 can really help. Facilitating the incarceration of the mentally ill is a difficult issue, but I support this effort.

In the 1970s I taught adult education in Pomona. I taught exercise classes for mentally ill adults in two facilities, one locked and the other unlocked, meaning residents with disabilities could come and go. I was impressed with the amount of services provided.

In 1979 I moved. Now, back in California, I saw those facilities were closed.

Today, the number of homeless people has exploded. As a cyclist, I ride the San Gabriel River Road and see the effects of mental illness.

It was refreshing to read about Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan for a “$3 billion bond operation to build mental health campuses, residential homes and permanent supportive housing.” I hope it bears fruit.

Maria Nowak, Long Beach

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About the editor: Believe me, whose seriously mentally ill sister lived and died on the street.

As a society, we take better care of dogs than we do people with mental illnesses. There are leash laws, rabies vaccination regulations, and thousands of animal shelters and rescue groups trying to find them safe, loving homes.

we should be ashamed.

Laura Morgan, South Pasadena