The foundation of the new policy is that New York state will be able to authorize first responders to forcibly hospitalize mentally ill New Yorkers who cannot meet their own basic needs such as food, shelter or medical care.
The foundation of the new policy is that New York state will be able to authorize first responders to forcibly hospitalize mentally ill New Yorkers who cannot meet their own basic needs such as food, shelter or medical care.
People who slip by a day and just keep a mess tend to have support networks. If they’re employed, they’re not likely to get thrown in a mental health section in NY. Plus, again, this is New York, not Texas or Florida. Consider the context here. There’s a lot of homeless people in the City who refuse care and get washed through the system. They aren’t getting held in jail, but they’re racking up fines, putting them further behind and worse off. Mandatory care is needed for some people. And we can’t write laws to cover the corner cases without risking overreach.
More people are isolated from support systems than ever before in history, and the rapidly rising homeless population across the US is absolutely a counter to your narrative.
We do need systemic reform. We need housing first solutions to homelessness. Not forced ‘hospitalization’ for anyone too poor to live free and too useless to work for the state as a slave.