New York City Mayor Eric Adams visits the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 17, he announced that officials will begin hospitalizing more homeless people by providing services. involuntary care for people deemed to be in a “mental crisis”.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing backlash after pushing for a series of policy changes aimed at cracking down on the city’s homeless.
On Tuesday, Adams announced officials would begin hospitalizing more homeless people by unwanted care for those considered to be in “mental crisis.”
“For a long time, there has been a gray area where policies, laws and accountability are not clear, and this has allowed those in need to slip through the cracks,” says Adams. “This culture of uncertainty has led to a lot of suffering and deep disappointment. It can’t go on.”
And for many months, Adams and his administration discussed prevent homeless people from sheltering in subway despite waiting for budget cuts will eliminate the services the city provides for the homeless. At least 470 people have reported arrest this year for “spreading” or taking up more than one seat in the carriage. In March, authorities targeted people living under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Williamsburg while Adams is said to have attended an event promote Wells Fargo credit cards that people can use to pay rent.
Adams’ policies have drawn criticism from homeless advocates.
Jacquelyn Simone, policy director for the Coalition for the Homeless, said: “Mayor Adams continues to misunderstand his reliance on surveillance, ineffective policymaking, transportation and regulation. involuntary treatment of people with mental illness. statement on Tuesday. “Homeless people are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators, but Mayor Adams has consistently blamed homeless people and others with mental illness as violence.
Eva Wong, director of the mayor’s public mental health office, defended the changes.
“These new protocols and training will ensure that the agencies and systems responsible for connecting our community members with serious mental illness to treatments are working together to give them the support they need and deserve,” Wong said.
However, others are unsure whether the city has the necessary infrastructure to respond to medical emergencies. New York City public advocate Jumaane D. Williams said the city needs to invest millions of dollars in its approach to the ongoing mental health crisis.
The number of respite centers the city uses to care for people in crisis has halved in the past three years, according to a recent report. Only two adult mental health crisis centers have been established since 2019. More than 60,000 homeless people, including 19,310 homeless children, sleep in the shelter system. New York City’s main city, as of September according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
“The ongoing reckoning with how we define and create public safety has also highlighted the need to address this crisis holistically as a health issue, rather than simply is law enforcement,” Williams said in a statement. statement.
NPR’s Dylan Scott contributed to this story.
