City of New York will forcibly treat citizens with mental problems

In an effort to address the mental health crisis on the streets and subways of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement on November 29. He said the authorities would intervene more aggressively to get people for treatment. The mayor stressed the "moral obligation" to act, even if it means involuntary hospitalization of some, reports NBC New York.

“These New Yorkers and hundreds of others like them are in urgent need of treatment, but often turn it down when offered,” Adams said at a news conference. He noted that the widespread problem of mental illness has long been open.

“Don't walk past or look away anymore,” the mayor said. “You don’t want to notice how people talk to themselves, fight with a shadow. We pretend not to see."

The mayor's order marks the latest attempt to ease a crisis that has been brewing for decades.

This would give outreach workers, city hospitals and first responders, including police, the power to forcefully hospitalize anyone they deem dangerous or unable to take care of themselves.

“The very nature of their illnesses prevents them from realizing that they need intervention and support. Without this intervention, they remain lost and isolated from society, tormented by delusions and disordered thinking. They cycle to and from hospitals and prisons.”

On the subject: New York schoolchildren began to have mental health checks: teachers call tests strange

State law generally limits the ability of governments to force someone into treatment unless they pose a risk to themselves. But Adams said it's a "myth" that the law requires a person to behave "dangerously" or be suicidal before a police or medical officer can take action.

As part of its initiative, the city is developing a telephone line that will allow police officers to consult with doctors. The person in charge of the city's 11 public hospitals said that if there is no time to do a proper assessment, let the emergency department do it.

“If someone misbehaves, you don't know if it's fentanyl or a mental illness,” said NYC Health and Hospitals CEO Mitchell Katz.

The mayor's statement was met with caution by civil rights groups and homeless advocates.

Homeless policy experts say the new strategy does not account for the lack of services even for those who really need help. And at the same time exaggerates the risk for those who do not need help.

“Mayor Adams really fuels the narrative that people with mental health problems and homelessness are dangerous,” said Jacqueline Simone of the Coalition for the Homeless.

A coalition of community groups, including the Legal Aid Society and several community advocacy services, said the mayor was right.

Simone celebrated "decades of dysfunction" in mental health. They argued that state legislators "should no longer 'show off'" to deal with the crisis. Legislation should be passed that would offer treatment, not prison, for people with mental health problems.

“We are pleased to hear that Mayor Adams recognizes that treatment and services must guide the path to rehabilitation and recovery,” the groups said.

Other key questions remain, such as where the city will find the beds needed for the sick. The state has pledged 50 beds. But hundreds of other hospital beds the city has have been closed due to the pandemic.

The mayor said he has begun dispatching teams of doctors and police officers to patrol the city's busy metro stations.