Instead of laying it at the feet of the "old friend of the liberals", Google for five seconds more and get the background. While the comparison to Reagan may not be to your liking, and too quickly referenced, he no doubt could have done much more to support the mentally ill, instead of leaving it as a 'if they need help all they have to do is ask' situation. Reagan killed off Jimmy Carters mental health proposal just like he got rid of the solar panels Carter had placed on the roof of the White House. This is how Reagan operated when it came to uncomfortable topics, like the AIDS crisis, which Reagan did not even speak of until five years into his Presidency-though his press secretary, Larry Speakes, joked about it in a presser. 

Reagan is our most overrated President, imho. 

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-mental-patients-began.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/12/01/reagan_press_secretary_laughs_about_gay_people_dying_of_aids.html