The deinstitutionalization process in the United States has failed to deliver appropriate community-based support for people with mental illness. As asylums closed, many patients were moved into nursing homes or general hospitals without adequate treatment. Emergency rooms, jails, prisons, and the streets have filled the gap.
In the last year a small but vocal movement of medical professionals has responded to this failure by advocating that the country “bring back the asylum.” In the Journal of the American Medical Association, they argue that certain individuals “cannot help themselves or live independently,” and that even well designed community support is inadequate and too costly.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandates that countries ensure the right of people with disabilities to live in the community rather than endure segregation. And there is significant evidence that when people with even severe and chronic mental illness receive appropriate community support—both in housing and employment—they can thrive.
Does the United States’ failure to provide adequate community support justify a return to asylums? Join the Open Society Foundations for an expert panel discussion about today’s debates and the historical lessons, medical ethics, legal and human rights considerations, and practice of institutionalizing people.
Speakers
- Joseph Fins, professor of medical ethics at Cornell University.
- David Rothman, professor of social medicine and director of the Center on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia University.
- Elyn Saks, professor of law, psychology, and psychiatry, and the behavioral sciences at the University of Southern California.
- Clarence Sundram, former special advisor on vulnerable persons to the governor of New York.
- Judith Klein (introductory remarks), director of the Open Society Mental Health Initiative.
- Aryeh Neier (moderator), president emeritus of the Open Society Foundations.
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