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The Mayor of New York has instituted a system of forced internment for many homeless people. While two-thirds of them suffer from an untreated mental illness, this measure raises many questions.
The images of a homeless man pushing a user in the subway on the tracks have deeply shocked New Yorkers. He will come out with several injuries. Another day, a homeless man attacks a passenger for no reason with excrement hidden in a bag. To fight against these attacks, the mayor of New York has put in place an unprecedented provision: allowing the police to forcibly detain any homeless person with a psychiatric past and presenting a danger to themselves. “If a mental illness causes someone to end up on the streets and they become a danger to themselves, we have a moral obligation to help them find treatment”details Eric Adams, the mayor of New York.
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In this city of the United States, two thirds of the homeless suffer from untreated mental illness. Joseph, a homeless person, finds this measure inhumane. “I think it’s just a way for them to take us off the streets and keep us against our will”. Another, revolts against this measure: “we should rather give us help, like here, let us decide what we need”. An aid association for the homeless brings them meals and encourages them to seek treatment. A job that the police are not used to doing according to the head of the association. The police will receive specific training to determine when a person needs internment. However, faced with the history of police blunders in the country, many questions remain: what to do if a policeman analyzes the situation badly?
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