Date of Award
5-2025
Language
English
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Communication
Advisor/Committee Chair
Elaine Salisbury
Abstract
New York has made it easier to involuntarily hospitalize people with severe mental illness as part of the state budget signed at the Capitol in early May by Gov. Kathy Hochul. State law previously allowed people with severe mental illness to be involuntarily hospitalized if two physicians determined they pose a threat to themselves or others. The updated law sets a standard to include people who are deemed unwilling or unable to support their basic needs, including food, shelter and medical care, due to their mental illness. However, opponents of the updated law say it could be misused to involuntarily commit unhoused individuals without mental illness and argue lawmakers should invest more in voluntary community-based mental health services.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Stone, Joshua T., "Mental Health Advocates, Lawmakers Discuss Involuntary Commitment Expansion" (2025). Communication. 18.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_communication/18