Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC, Full Screen
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• ASIN: B000RK97GG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,586 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

In the late 1970s, New York had a total of 90,000 beds in state institutions for the mentally ill. Today, there are just 6,000. NY JUSTICE: THE MENTAL HEALTH DILEMMA is an unflinching examination of the far-reaching consequences of this trend. As INVESTIGATIVE REPORTSTM details, the court-ordered release of the mentally ill in New York has created a welter of problems. NY JUSTICE talks to police officers who find themselves routinely arresting individuals who are clearly incapacitated. Despite their conditions, they almost inevitably end up in prison, where they are often subjected to horrific treatment and end up in solitary confinement for their own protection. Once released, they are back on the streets--homelessness in this population approaches 95%--and the cycle is likely to start again. Social workers and activists who are trying to change the system detail the barriers to reform, while a day spent on rounds with a parole officer sheds light on the frightening existence of the mentally ill homeless. While the debate over what can be done to fix the system is wide-ranging, there is no question that a solution of some sort is desperately called for.