libertarian thinking that didn t condone containing an individual against their wishes which certainly makes sense when the person is mentally healthy. and this has been our approach in the decades since a shift towards deinstitutionalization that has coincided with the rise of mass incarceration which leads police in the untenable position of having little choice but to often lock up those who are more in need of trimeatment. i get that the causes are many, that it s complicated, and that the problem is widespread, most common to big cities. i ve witnessed homelessness here in new york city. in washington, d.c., in los angeles. the in tenderloin second of calif second of california. you might remember my interview with a mom from san francisco that went to rescue her homeless grown daughter. governor newsom has pledged to make it a priority last month,
the price victims pay. injury and death. we know the price that the public ps. it s fear and chronic paralysis. afraid of getting attacked or seeing a loved one get attacked. we know the price the police pay. they are demoralized. they are afraid of losing their jobs. losing their pensions. they re afraid of losing their freedom quite frankly and going to jail. but you have a de blasio who after his time as mayor is talking about running for governor. it s happening over and over. quickly with the profoundly mentally ill. this has been something that s going on for 60 years in this country. it started when president kennedy was in office. the deinstitutionalization of the profoundly mentally ill. they are violent. they are on the streets. this man who killed this
living on disability benefits to afford that, so they need help, and that s what vouchers do. that s part of a solution. i think the issue of deinstitutionalization, deinstitutionalization was going to happen no matter what because for too long we had found that keeping people with mental illnesses locked up in institutions was not a humane way to deal with that. we have solutions for homelessness, even for people with the most severe mental illness. we can help them afford rent and help them with outpatient mental health treatment. places that are doing that, it s working really well. it s just the scale is such in a city like new york that they just need to get serious about investing the money that it s going to take. and everyone will be happier. eric: and finally, do you think that it will be able to be, basically, solved? i believe so. i mean, i work for an organization called the nati wot
the mentally ill. joining me now, correspondent geraldo rivera. good to have you here. this is something that we talk about every time it happens. there are cases, there were reports that some people and their circle said that his mother wanted to have him committed and that may have been what tipped him off but it was difficult to do so because he didn t have any rap sheet, any violations. you did a documentary some investigative work that really changed institutions in many ways in new york which dealt with children who were deemed to be mental disabilities. different kind of situation, but that was part of the whole deinstitutionalization of these kinds of mental health care issues. what you think about all of that? thank you for giving me the opportunity to clear up what