NYC mental health program pushed by Adams in doubt after report questions effectiveness
One of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' signature mental health programs is in question after a City Council report suggested sending mentally ill people who are homeless to involuntary care has been ineffective.
Members were never happy with Adams' decision to force the severely mentally ill into treatment against their will, but their report comes as the mayor says he's gearing up to run for reelection and wants to tout his accomplishments.
City Council casts doubt on involuntary mental health care
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams raised questions at a City Council hearing Monday about the program Adams initiated in late 2022 to deal with the mentally ill homeless on subways and city streets.
"The 2024 report from the Mayor's Office of Community and Mental Health cites 58% of clinician-initiated transports resulted in admissions at a New York City public hospital. But the reports fail to report on the outcomes of officer-initiated transports," Williams said. "It's not about involuntary hospitalizations. It's about the continuum of care that's necessary after the hospitals."
The council's findings raised a number of questions, including about racial disparities.
The report mentioned Black New Yorkers make up 24% of the city's population, but accounted for 54% of the involuntary transports. It also said the transports were more than five times as likely to originate from a private residence than those struggling with mental illness on the subways or the streets.
Mayor insists program does not target patients based on race
Despite the statistics in the report, Adams insisted the program treats people who need help and that it is not based on race.
"We're going to go where the issue is and we're not going to play race politics," he said. "We are not going to say, 'Hey, this person needs to be involuntary removed. But hold on, they're Black, so we're not going to do it. They're Hispanic, we're not going to do it. They're white, we're not going to do it.'"
They mayor went even further, suggesting council members leave what he called the "sterile environment of the City Council chamber" and see the reality of what's going on in the streets and on the subways.
"If you want to play that analysis, look at the ethnicity of those who are being majorly impacted. Look at the homeless population and ethnic breakdown of that. You ride the subway system, look and see who's on them. Look at the ethnic demographics of who's homeless. Look at the ethnic demographics of those who are charged with some of these crimes, that are pushing people on the subway system, slashing, etc.," he said.
Adams also addressed questions about his reelection bid and whether he will run as an independent candidate. He insisted he's running as a Democrat.
