New York Mayor Eric Adams is sticking up for his new policy that lets city workers involuntarily commit homeless people into medical institutions after enduring criticism from civil liberties and mental health professionals.
The policy, announced late last month, grants police, firefighters, outreach workers and other first responders the ability to admit people to psychiatric hospitals if they appear unable to take care of themselves, according to WNYW, the Fox affiliate in New York.
“I didn’t get elected to do an easy task,’ Mr. Adams said Monday, according to London’s Daily Mail newspaper. “I got elected to look at these systemic problems that have been in the city for generations.