Council Member Tiffany Cabán's Statement on Calls for the Involuntary Commitment of Individuals with Mental Illness
January 16, 2025
New York City
In response to growing calls across the political spectrum for an increase in the involuntary commitment of individuals with mental illness, including in Mayor Eric Adams’s 2025 State of the City and Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State, New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán released the following statement:
“Involuntary commitment is an inappropriate medical intervention for the vast majority of people living with mental illness. There are many more effective, less coercive, less intrusive, and less violent medical interventions that would serve the majority of those in need.
As stated by the Coalition for the Homeless: ‘As it stands, in application it appears that [involuntary commitment’s] primary impact is to forcibly remove low-income people with mental health issues from their communities, rather than serving mental health needs in any detectable way.”
‘Housing First’ approaches which provide supportive housing (apartments designed to support people who need psychiatric or substance use treatment) are evidence-based and proven to reduce homelessness and support individuals with severe mental illness. But recently, an investigation by THE CITY found that of nearly 1,000 homeless people waiting for supportive housing, only 18% obtained a spot, despite thousands of vacant units. New York City must fill these vacant units, as well as expand eligibility criteria and increase the number of supportive housing units available to New yorkers.
We currently also have astronomically long wait lists for IMT and FACT teams (mental health care teams that provide outreach to individuals in shelters, in the streets, and at home). These programs must be expanded.
The Mayor and Governor must focus on fully funding and scaling non-coercive resources for people living with mental illness, follow medical best practices, and only use involuntary commitment when it is deemed necessary by healthcare professionals for a person with severe mental illness.”
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