Mayor Eric Adams is celebrating his year-old policy making it easier to involuntarily hospitalize people presumed to have mental illnesses, which he says is allowing the city to help more of its hardest-to-reach residents. But so far, there’s little data available on the initiative.
Since its announcement, the policy has faced criticism from some mental health advocates, who allege that it amounts to discrimination. But Adams touted the program’s “early results” at a press conference on Wednesday, exactly a year after he issued the controversial directive. His administration also hailed a broader effort that includes beefing up the number of homeless outreach workers as well as increasing coordination between city agencies, the public hospital system and nonprofit service providers.
“We have housed and helped a significant number of those most in need of care and support,” the mayor said.
Officials say that out of 100 New Yorkers who are homeless — and who have been identified by city officials as among the “hardest to reach” — 54 are now either housed or in hospitals. The individuals are on two lists maintained by the city’s Coordinated Behavioral Health Task Force, an interagency body that meets regularly to figure out how to engage them in services. That figure is up from 22 people on the list of 100 the previous year.
The task force tracks people who “have a series of complex issues” and who have been engaged by outreach workers over months or years without much success, said Molly Wasow Park, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Social Services.
Of the 54 people from the lists who are currently hospitalized or housed, 31 were involuntarily transported to hospitals for mental health evaluations at some point, said City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak on Wednesday. From the group, 14 are currently in hospitals, including some in state psychiatric hospitals, which typically are reserved for longer stays, said Brian Stettin, Adams’…
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