New law will help mentally ill, author tells lecture club

Russ Edmondson
Special to the Hornet
Published October 25, 1999

California Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg told 125 members of the CSUS Renaissance Society that his number one priority is to help lead an effort to build a more efficient system for the state's mentally ill.

Steinberg, who spoke Friday in Mendocino Hall on several topics including, "Have jails and prisons become our new mental hospital?" has just completed his first year as an Assemblyman.

He is currently chairman of the Labor and Employment Committee and a member of several other committees. In 1995, he founded the Students Today Receiving Results Tomorrow (START), a program in which 28 Sacramento schools participate.

According to Steinberg, there are currently 50,000 mentally ill homeless living on the streets in California. In response to the plight of California's mentally ill, Steinberg authored a bill that recently became law.

"We have criminalized the problem and our police are not trained to solve the problem. The mentally ill cycle in and out of the system. We can do better," said Steinberg.

The main objective of AB 34 is to get mentally ill people off the street and into supportive environments. This legislation allots $10 million to focus on outreach to the mentally ill in California. This money is to be spent by May 1 of next year.

"I am confident we will show that the $10 million is a solid investment. We will begin to build the system for the mentally ill that was promised 30 years ago, and been left unfulfilled," said Steinberg.

According to Steinberg, the allotted money is to be spent on housing, treating substance abuse and vocational training for the mentally ill. He noted that the percentage of the state budget that goes to mentally ill has dropped from 4% down to 1.5%.

Gun control was another topic explored by Steinberg.

"We have limited the sale of guns to one a month. I think that we could do better than that. A family of four can still buy 48 guns a year," Steinberg said to laughter from the audience.

Steinberg has been credited with influencing the council to ban Saturday Night Specials.

Steinberg also spoke on education issues and the Three Strike law during the Friday night lecture.

CSUS students can attend public forums sponsored by the Renaissance Society held from 3-4 p.m. Fridays in Room 1005 of Mendocino Hall. This Friday Barbara O’Conner will speak on the question, "Are we ready for a female president?" According to the Renaissance Society Catalog, O’Conner is a nationally-recognized expert in the fields of political communication and telecommunications policy.