Scott Stringer was a leader in the mayoral race until #MeToo accusations derailed his campaign, so his comment Wednesday on handling the mentally ill homeless was beyond revealing of progressive bias on the issue: “You can’t say, ‘Psych beds for all,'” he insisted, wagging his finger at Andrew Yang for simply saying, so very rightly, that the city needs more of them.
The simple fact is that more psychiatric help and supervision is vital to mitigating homelessness, but progressives flinch from imposing it, as if recognizing that these are profoundly troubled individuals is somehow “stigmatizing” them.
And the problem isn’t even a lack of money, but how New York spends it.
For starters, move funds from First Lady Chirlane McCray’s $1 billion pet project, ThriveNYC — which focuses on people with far less severe mental-health problems than those of seriously troubled people who assault passersby on the streets or push straphangers onto subway tracks — to programs dedicated to getting the the tough cases off the streets and into treatment.
The annual street homeless survey can be more than just a simple count: Add a mental-health screening and start a case folder for every individual as you encourage him to come in out of the cold.
Tap a mental-health specialist who understands the need for “tough love” as a new “homeless czar” and give him or her authority across multiple agencies to order aggressive, coordinated use of Kendra’s Law to mandate treatment.
And, absolutely, shame the state into ending its cuts of psychiatric inpatient beds and push it to start funding more. Use city, state and federal funds to build more “supportive housing” facilities for those who can leave the hospital.
Because some hard cases will inevitably wind up in jail, upgrade the mental-health wing at Rikers to a facility that can make a difference — and that ensures those released from jail don’t just vanish back onto the streets, but instead are supported and supervised when back in the community. Demand the state do the same in the prisons.
Have the Law Department litigate to roll back the federal Olmstead decision, which requires the “least restrictive” environment even for those mentally ill who are clearly, desperately in need of structured supervision.
New York has the funds and the tools to make a huge difference. It only needs the will.
The mayor and City Council are finalizing the first post-pandemic budget now, spending vast sums in federal aid. At nearly $100 billion, the spending plan can prioritize public safety by funding real services for the mentally ill homeless.
If Mayor Bill de Blasio refuses to rise to the challenge, the next mayor will have to.