Trump’s Prescription for Poverty: Forced Psychiatry and the Criminalization of Homelessness

Trump order pushes forcible hospitalization of homeless people

Related:

Trump Pushes Policies That ‘Treat Homelessness and Mental Illness as a Crime’

New Research Shows Risks of Coercive Psychiatric Treatment

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is raising difficult but necessary questions about a practice that affects hundreds of thousands of lives each year: involuntary psychiatric hospitalization.

This equates to a 79% increase in risk of being charged with a violent crime, and almost a doubled risk of dying by suicide or overdose, in the three months following evaluation for hospitalization.

The researchers also found hospitalization often caused destabilization. It led to declines in employment and earnings, and increased use of homeless shelters. It did not lead to better outpatient care or more consistent medication use.

RFK Jr. Is Headlining the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit. This Doesn’t Bode Well.

RFK Jr. Is Headlining the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit. This Doesn’t Bode Well.

On April 21, the first day of the 14th annual Rx and Illicit Drug Summit, organizers announced a surprise presenter for the closing plenary on April 24: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., newly minted Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and vocal proponent of building labor camps for people who use drugs.

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Be Careful What You Say

How honesty leads to the trauma of unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization

Picture a soul in turmoil, wrapped in the suffocating embrace of despair. In the sanctuary of a therapist’s office, they finally find the courage to voice the unspeakable: 

“Sometimes, I think about not being here anymore.” 

The words hang heavy in the air, a testament to the crushing weight of their pain, loneliness, and emptiness. This confession, born from a place of vulnerability and trust, should be the beginning of a deeper healing journey.

During these intense emotional struggles, it’s important to understand that thoughts of escape, including suicide, are a common human response to overwhelming pain. There’s a vast chasm between contemplating an end to suffering and actively planning to end one’s life.

Be Careful What You Say