This is one of those situations where broad-strokes rules just don't help very much.
>"There ought to be a new standard of care, said Ruffin, and it should include not just temporary involuntary psychiatric and physical treatment, but long-term case management."
This is the crux of it. Admitting people to a psych ward for an involuntary hold is ripe for abuse. You can respect someone's autonomy (even a homeless person with psychiatric problems' autonomy) and, at the same time, help them not freeze to death.
It usually starts with having enough caseworkers with enough bureaucratic leeway to build actual relationships with their clients. I don't think we're anywhere close to that.
>"There ought to be a new standard of care, said Ruffin, and it should include not just temporary involuntary psychiatric and physical treatment, but long-term case management."
This is the crux of it. Admitting people to a psych ward for an involuntary hold is ripe for abuse. You can respect someone's autonomy (even a homeless person with psychiatric problems' autonomy) and, at the same time, help them not freeze to death.
It usually starts with having enough caseworkers with enough bureaucratic leeway to build actual relationships with their clients. I don't think we're anywhere close to that.