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Photo: Mental health beds at the\u00a0Olive View-UCLA Medical Center\u00a0Restorative Care Village. Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.<\/em><\/p>\n Los Angeles, CA (January 24, 2023)<\/strong> –\u00a0Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors put a plan in motion to address its shortage of mental health beds that provide care for indigent individuals suffering from untreated severe mental illness.<\/p>\n All five members unanimously approved the\u00a0motion<\/a>, introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Supervisor Holly Mitchell, that directs the County\u2019s Department of Mental Health and its Chief Executive Officer to work with a consultant to project forecasted bed capacity needs in acute, subacute, and residential settings.<\/p>\n \u201cI want our County to be prepared to serve some of the most vulnerable individuals who desperately need a therapeutic, professional, recuperative environment and have no means to get that type of service on their own,\u201d said\u00a0Supervisor Kathryn Barger<\/strong>. \u201cDespite our best efforts to build and contract more mental health beds, we remain thousands of beds short of our current need. We need numbers, data, and fiscal projections to ground our planning work for the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n The motion builds upon a 2019 report that studied inpatient treatment system needs and a successful two-year pilot that added 500 beds to the County\u2019s portfolio of residential care sites.<\/p>\n \u201cThis analysis complements the progress we are making in creating beds whenever we can to help those that are suffering now by providing an important roadmap to make sure we are clear on our end goal,\u201d said\u00a0Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It also emphasizes the forthcoming demand for mental health beds due to L.A. County fast-tracking its implementation of CARE Court and its recent emergency proclamation over the homelessness crisis.<\/p>\n The\u00a0National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Los Angeles<\/a>\u00a0submitted a\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0voicing their support of the motion.<\/p>\n