In 2010, A report by the Treatment Advocacy Center discovered a seventeen percent decrease in the number of available psychiatric beds, and psychiatric facilities. The funding for mental health resources is still continuing to be cut. Back in 1955, there was more funding for the mentally ill, and more housing. Today, we are are given less than half of the funding we were then. We currently have 13 beds for 100,000 people. Where as in 1955 there were 50 beds for 100,000 people. The Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 is bringing the United States one step closer to providing more adequate help for the mentally ill. Such as, more funding for at risk populations.
What does it mean to respect the dignity of a human being? What sort of support do human capacities demand from the world, and how should we think about this support when we encounter differences of gender or sexuality? How should we think about each other across divisions that a legacy of injustice has created?
Firstly, recognising that social justice includes animal protection involves acknowledging that how our behaviour affects animals matters both morally and politically. Moreover, it involves acknowledging it matters not merely because many humans care about the plight of animals. Rather, our behaviour matters because of its effect on the lives of animals themselves.
From time immemorial societies have sought ways to regulate and control human behavior in a fair and just manner. It would appear the issues start out fairly simple, say a law stating: You shall not kill... except ...and the "except" is why there is no consistent universal code of justice.
Patrick W. Corrigan, Amy C. Watson, Peter Byrne, Kristin E. Davis, Mental Illness Stigma: Problem of Public Health or Social Justice?, Social Work, Vol. 50, No. 4, PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (October 2005), pp. 363-368