Eric Adams, New York City Mayor, responds to questions about a controversial new directive that allows for the involuntary hospitalization of those who refuse to receive treatment for severe mental illness.
On Monday, the mayor spoke to reporters and stated that he was elected to address systemic issues such as mental health in the Big Apple.
“I wasn’t elected to do an easy task. He stated that he was elected to examine the systemic issues that have plagued this city for many generations.
Outreach workers, city hospital staff and first responders (including police) have the right to involuntarily admit anyone they consider a threat to themselves or incapable of caring for themselves.
NYC LIBERALS RUN ADAMS’ HOMELESSNESS IN DIRECTIVE TO FORCIBLY HOSITALIZE MENTALLY Ill LIVING ON STREETS. SUBWAYS
Homeless Outreach staff reach out to someone sleeping on a bench in Manhattan’s subway system Monday, February 21, 2022 in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
They are unable to recognize the fact that they require support and intervention because of their illness. They are isolated and lost from society because they lack the intervention. Adams stated last week that they cycle in and out from hospitals and prisons.
The mayor stated that the plan was designed to dispel the myth that the legal requirement for involuntary intervention requires violence or other dangerous behavior that could lead to imminent harm. A phone line is being developed by the city that will allow police officers to speak with physicians.
Adams had previously announced a safety plan for subways and promised to increase outreach efforts after a woman was forced into the path of a train.
Mayor Eric Adams at Lincoln Center, October 3, 2022 in New York City. (Photo: Dominik Bindl/Getty Images).
He also called for an expansion of “Kendra’s Law”, which allows courts and judges to order mental-illness defendants to receive treatment.
FOX 5 New York reported on the fact that, despite the promise of a psychiatric unit for everyone in need, there are not enough numbers to meet the promise. Adams stated that there is no current plan to report the number of people who have been admitted to hospital for evaluation .
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“Within the limitations of… within HIPAA legislations or other laws that are not required to be reported, we’re going try to be as transparent and open as possible,” said the mayor.
According to the station, the spokesperson for the city hall said that at least one person was transported to the hospital last Wednesday. Advocates are denying that the report of the number of people receiving care would be in violation any HIPAA laws.
New York Police Department officers awaken sleeping passengers and direct them towards the exits at the 207th Street Station on the A train. This was Thursday, April 30, 2020 in Manhattan. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FOX 5 reported that Adams stated that an individual who was admitted to hospital but did not fall within the severe mental illness category would be connected to shelters or other accommodation.
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The Coalition for the Homeless and the New York Civil Liberties Union have criticised the plan, calling for people to be forced into treatment a “failed tactic”. However, other groups such as the Legal Aid Society claimed that the mayor was right in noting the “decades” of dysfunction in mental health care.
New York Governor spokesperson Kathy Hochul stated that the directive plan is a result of mutual efforts to expand capacity at psychiatric hospitals and outreach teams in subways.
Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office but they did not immediately reply.
This report was contributed by the Associated Press.
