What shouldn’t be in dispute, however, is that the status quo regarding crime, mental health, and homelessness is intolerable… [P]eople suffering from severe mental illness are, in fact, more likely to commit violent crimes…
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Bring back involuntary commitment.
I understand that some varieties of this exist in some states. But look around. They are too lax, too complicated.
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When I look at Goya’s picture of institutional life in 18th century Spain, I see human beings haunted by terrifying delusions, left to waste away in the dark, the dank, and the cold—but this resembles nothing so much as the current state of affairs in our subways, underpasses, and public parks. Contrary to the medical reality of Goya’s day, or the imagined setting of Cuckoo’s Nest, we do have the power to beat back severe mental illness in a patient’s brain, in an environment that is safe, clean, and calm. Not every patient will get better, but many will, and every single one deserves that chance. The bottom line is that inside of treatment, some of these people will get better. Outside of it, almost none will.