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Chef Andrew Gruel (tweet relayed by @garryslist, published 2026-08-07) says…

2026-08-07 · 18:07 UTC ·@garryslist ·1 min read

Brief

Chef Andrew Gruel (tweeted via @garryslist on 2026-08-07) argues California’s statutes permit severely mentally ill homeless people to refuse help, leaving them and the public at risk. He demands narrowly targeted legal changes to authorize involuntary treatment when someone is incapable of self-care and to sustain treatment long enough, saying political will is the obstacle.

Why it matters

Chef Andrew Gruel (tweet relayed by @garryslist, published 2026-08-07) says California law lets severely mentally ill unhoused people refuse care, creating risks to themselves and others and blocking effective treatment.

Key details

  • Gruel calls for narrowly scoped legal reform to allow involuntary treatment when severe mental illness renders someone incapable of self-care and to keep them in treatment long enough, insisting the only barrier is political will and calling the 'freedom to live and die on a sidewalk' meaningless.
Source evidence

The "freedom" to live and die on a sidewalk is a meaningless one

Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel)

This is one of the most broken parts of California’s homelessness crisis. A severely mentally ill person can be living on the street unable to care for himself, a risk to others, and when help arrives, he can simply say “no.” We need to reform the law so when severe mental illness leaves someone incapable of caring for themselves, we can get them into treatment and keep them there long enough to actually help. This can be done with a narrow scope such that it doesn’t infringe on civil liberties but ONLY if there’s a will.

— https://nitter.net/ChefGruel/status/2085582450324099462#m