New York, NY--Wednesday, Communities United for Police Reform, members of the New York City Council Progressive Caucus, mental health and housing advocates, social service providers, and other New York City community organizations rallied at City Hall to condemn Mayor Adams’ recently announced mental health directive that expands the scope and authority of the NYPD to involuntarily detain New Yorkers and force them into treatment. The attendees came together to demand that Adams roll back this dangerous new directive and instead invest in holistic public health-based approaches that work, mental health infrastructure and affordable housing options.
“People are on the streets because they don’t have anywhere to go. They don’t have jobs. They don’t have the services they need. But instead of making a plan to address this, the Mayor is actually cutting budgets for housing and mental health care. He just wants to throw more police at the problem but officers are not health professionals. They don’t have the skills to diagnose people or care for them. They only have the skills to criminalize and detain people.” — Eric Vassell, father of Saheed Vassell who killed by NYPD in 2018, and Justice Committee member
