One of the supposed "menatlly ill" DID break into my house, a meth addict. (Prime cadidate for a Southeastern referral!) He was being booked in less than a half-hour. The dope forgot to break into an UNOCCUPIED house, and then made the near fatal mistake of picking the wrong house. Unlike you, I reject the blackmail argument, that one way or another, we HAVE to pay out big bucks for these people. For the addicted/criminal, three squares and a bunk shouldn't break the budget. Perhaps if we make prison an ungodly hell-hole that no one wants to return to, it would reduce the recidivism rate? For the truly mentally ill (Manic-Depression, Schzophrenia, et al) I have no problem with treating them when their families cannot. When I watched that girl on Frontline describe how people were putting Kryptonite in her coffee to kill her, I would have paid for the lithium shot out of my wallet right on the spot. The problem that you all want to deny is that "mental illness" has been expanded to include absolute nonsense that is in no way, shape, or form the responsibility of taxpayers. (But it sure is making life great for tho$e ca$hing in!) Being a drunken, homeless bum on the streets doesn't make you mentally ill - it makes you a drunk. How about pre-surgical gender reassignment counselling? Should the taxpayers have to pay for that crap-pola? Quitting smoking? Getting off drugs? Amazing that while we're working so hard to get some people OFF drugs, we are training others to beleive that their happiness depends upon them. How long do we hand out Paxil and Wellbutrin before we say, "You're a spolied little brat who simply refuses to accept that life isn't a non-stop carnival of romance, intrigue, and excitement. Get over it!" I've spent over twenty years of my life in some educational endeavor or another. The most valuable lessons I ever learned however, came during thirteen weeks in the Summer of 1970, at Parris Island, SC. Thanks to three dedicated sadists wearing Smokey the Bear hats, I learned that every aspect of my life is what I make it. I am responsible for doing the right thing even when no one is looking. I alone am responsible for my actions. Sometimes, life doesn't go my way and I don't always get what I want. Sometimes life can really suck, and it's *MY* job to figure out how to make it un-suck. (Here's the most important one) EVERYONE encounters obstacles in their life. You get over them, you get around them, you tunnel under them, but whatever you do you get PAST the obstacle and proceed to accomplish your mission. If you don't, you've lost. I fully understand that all of those lessons are lost on the TRULY mentally ill. A good portion of Southeastern's referrals simply choose to ignore those lessons, reject any form of individual responsibility, and want the taxpayer to make their life peachy-keen. Those cases need a kick in the rear far more than they need to be coddled.