Extract : The 1980s was the decade when many of the state’s large mental hospitals were emptied (...) I jumped at the opportunity to move people out of "those places" (...) to help manage the transition of people back into the community
(...)
When he was in jail, with its regular routines and meals, Tim usually stabilized. But when he was released (...) he destabilized right away
Ok, we get your point.
But they why giving in conclusion the idea that more money thrown at a problem that seems intractable could solve it??? [Extract: I’d require school administrators (..) I’d put much more money (...) I’d get rid of laws (...) ]
This begs the question : was it considered only once that maybe "humane reforms" had been pushed too far, and that the best outcome would have been reached in a place with " regular routines and meals" where stabilization could have been provided- in other words a good old hospital.
Maybe in the past there were many people in that shouldn't have been there, and the "humane reforms" were then a good idea. But maybe we overdid them and now we make people worse, based on our own idea that people suffering from schizophrenia would be better outside the hospital.
Extract again from the post : "His only furniture was a bare mattress on the floor; a rat and flies were his companions. Sadly, he seemed content. This is the mental health delivery system that I helped build".
Yes the author did, since he considered a patient own evaluation of his situation to be perfectly valid and not in any way damaged by his disease.
It is usually better to respect a person will, self evaluation, etc. But maybe, just like for suicide, when the best judgement seems to no longer work, it is a good thing to ignore it until it can be fixed - if it can.