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Advocates Push Mental Health Diversion for Rikers Inmates
Original: Advocates Push Mental Health Diversion as Thousands at Rikers Need Treatment
Advocacy groups are calling for mental health diversion programs at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex, arguing that thousands of people held there need psychiatric treatment rather than incarceration. Supporters say diversion would move people with serious mental illness into care settings instead of jail, easing a facility long criticized for violence and poor conditions.
Why now: Rikers' ongoing crisis of violence and overcrowding has renewed debate over whether people with mental illness should be treated instead of jailed.
Rikers IslandNew York Citymental health advocates
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