According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the recent surge in violent crimes in New York City have involved people with serious untreated mental illness — a failure, she says, to get treatment to people who are homeless and disconnected from the mental health care system.

Hochul went on to state that New Yorkers have a duty to protect the public from random acts of violence, and the only fair and compassionate thing to do is “get our fellow New Yorkers the help they need.”

To that end, the governor has proposed expanding the use of involuntary commitment, as well as pledging $1 billion for mental health services.  

But two long-time mental health advocates, Harvey Rosenthal, CEO Alliance for Rights and Recovery, and Glenn Liebman, chief executive officer the Mental Health Association, argue that the way the mental health crisis is being characterized by Hochul and others is fanning the public’s fears, and creating less public safety, not more.

Instead of expanding involuntary commitment, the advocates are hoping to see a 7.8% rate hike for all mental health agencies in the state; the governor offered a 2.1% rate hike in her executive budget proposal.

They are also advocating for the implementation of incident review panel, voluntary engagement, crisis/hospital/jail diversion programs and peer-led INSET outreach teams.

Some of these programs, they argue, have been around for a long time, but haven’t been properly funded or utilized.

Rosenthal and Liebman joined Susan Arbetter on Capital Tonight to discuss the issues.