BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Mayors from 13 California cities, including Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh, are backing state Senate legislation to get more homeless people into treatment.
Senate Bill 43 seeks to update the definition of a gravely disabled person. The bill hopes to make it include the potential for serious physical and mental harm stemming from a person's inability to provide their own food or self-care. That would include if they have a mental health disorder or a substance-use problem.
Mayor Goh released a statement in support of the bill.
“We cannot continue to have our city’s homeless shelters and streets filled with individuals whom the state’s system of mental health and substance abuse has failed," said Goh. "The costly results leave families with little hope for their loved ones."
Other mayors in support of the bill include San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, Stockton Mayor Kevin J. Lincoln II, Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, and Irvine Mayor Farrah N. Khan.
