San Francisco lawmakers to propose guaranteed mental health care

San Francisco residents are likely to be voting on a measure this November put forth by some city lawmakers that would guarantee all San Franciscans care for mental illness and addiction. Mental Health SF, which will be proposed at a June 4 meeting of the city’s Board of Supervisors, builds on a previous program known as Healthy San Francisco, which ensured preventive and primary medical care, including for mental health in some cases, for San Francisco residents. Mental Health SF would also include the building of a new treatment center that would be open by June 2022. Staffing the center and a new office of coordinated care would cost between $40 million to $60 million, according to supporters, but the program overall could be funded — with additional voter approval — by a tax on companies with high-earning CEOs.