Democratic mayors lead course correction on psychiatric commitments
Adams panned Yang’s position as an attempt to “demonize” people experiencing mental health issues. But less than a year into his tenure as mayor, the Democrat directed first responders, crisis intervention teams and outreach workers to do something very similar to what Yang proposed: send people who appear unable to meet their basic needs due to mental illness to hospitals against their will.
Adams isn’t alone in embracing a policy that has long been popular among Republicans but is now experiencing a Democrat-led resurgence. Several Democratic West Coast mayors are using civil commitments as a tool to address the colliding crises of homelessness and mental health while nodding to voters’ concerns about public safety. And California Gov. Gavin Newsom, one of the most prominent Democrats in the nation, is embracing a similar approach.
The new strategies represent a remarkable shift in mental health policy, coming half a century after the U.S. began shuttering or downsizing state psychiatric institutions as liberal policymakers condemned the facilities as inhumane and conservatives sought to cut down on their exorbitant cost.
Now leaders of some of the nation’s most progressive cities say it is inhumane to leave people languishing without mental health treatment — even if it is involuntary.
Public officials and experts tie the policy shift to rising — and increasingly visible — levels of homelessness that have intersected with the country’s mental health crisis. More than 582,000 Americans are unhoused and an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. homeless population has a severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, according to federal data.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/01/democratic-mayors-lead-course-correction-on-psychiatric-commitments-00084387
