Amanda LaPera

On March 23, this letter was originally published by the Sacramento Bee online.

        Re "State needs to overhaul its dated mental health law" (Editorials, March 18): Thank you for bringing attention to this serious issue. Doctors, law enforcement, and families cannot help people who need it most because the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act law ties their hands. It's not fair and it's not right.

         I know firsthand because my dad has been homeless for over 10 years because of severe mental illness and anosognosia, neither of which he had until the age of 53. Instead of treating my dad like a real person, the system cycled him through mental hospitals until he disappeared.

         We must restore reason to mental healthcare by revamping the LPS Act. This is a human rights issue that shouldn't be held hostage by politics.

         -Amanda LaPera

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/23/4361141/i-agree-that-the-lps-act-needs.html#storylink=cpy