Mental Illness

The following was originally written by Wesley J. Smith, Chair and Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness team condemns the statements made by Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, and endorses the following condemnation by Smith. Homelessness is a crisis in our major cities. But we have to always remember that people who are homeless have equal intrinsic dignity as all other human beings. That is why I was appalled that — in a recent discussion about the atrocious murder of Iryna Zarutska by a mentally ill homeless man — Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade said that if the mentally ill homeless don’t accept hospitalization, they should be, well, killed. Yes. He actually said that. Read More ›

Michele Steeb appeared on NTD News and spoke with host Don Ma about the recent tragic killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. Steeb addresses the relationship between homelessness, mental illness, and crime, and explains why housing subsidies do not fix these issues. Steeb speaks from her experience running a Northern California program for homeless women and children.

Dr. Robert Marbut, a former federal homelessness official, said on Newsmax Saturday that President Donald Trump’s new executive order marks a turning point by reversing policies in Democrat-led cities that he believes have enabled drug use while neglecting treatment. Marbut, former executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, voiced strong support for President Donald Trump’s July 24 executive order targeting homelessness, addiction, and public disorder. Appearing on “The Count,” Marbut said the order is a needed correction to policies in many Democrat-controlled cities, which he claims have made it “easy to get high and hard to get treatment.” “What President Trump’s executive order does it start to make it easy to get treatment and hard to get high,” Read More ›

Latest Incident Why would anyone want to take a King County Metro bus in Seattle? Riders say they have to share space with homeless fentanyl addicts and the mentally ill. Here is the latest incident where this fella went on a profanity laced bender, bashing his head into the window several times. He’s apparently a regular on the E and H lines. Even after numerous complaints about public safety, riders say the agency only responds with robo emails. In other words, ride at your own risk.

[Editor’s Note: This article was amended on July 23, 2025, to include information about Ricky’s Law.] In its 2026 state budget, New York is putting a concerted effort behind addressing severe mental illness by expanding its involuntary hospitalization law and increasing the number of psychiatric beds. Kendra’s Law, which allows the involuntary hospitalization of those with a mental illness who pose a threat to themselves or others, will now also allow the hospitalization of those who are unable to care for themselves because of their mental illness. Washington state would do well to follow New York’s example. In Washington state, involuntary hospitalizations are handled by designated crisis responders (DCRs) under the state’s Involuntary Treatment Act. DCRs determine whether the individual Read More ›

Lost to Drugs The street crisis in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood is being fueled by drugs and mental illness. Some of the city funded non-profits like REACH and Plymouth Housing also have a presence in this neighborhood. Critics say their clients are the ones running wild on the streets and causing most of the problems. Late Tuesday evening, Andrea Suarez of We Heart Seattle tried to help a woman undressing on the sidewalk. But she was lost in her drug-induced mania.

On April 28, Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a $254 billion state budget for fiscal year 2026, which focuses heavily on improving the safety of New York City’s subway system. As part of this effort, the budget includes provisions to enforce laws and beef up police presence. But Governor Hochul’s budget also addresses a related issue: tackling homelessness and treating severe mental illness. The budget includes $25 million for “welcome centers” that will connect homeless and mentally ill people on the subway with essential services. An additional $16.5 million will be set aside for Assisted Outpatient Treatment, $2 million will go to staffing in the Office of Mental Health, and $160 million will create 100 inpatient psychiatric beds. Additionally, Kendra’s Law Read More ›

Nothing Has Changed Monday afternoon, first responders raced to Seattle’s Chinatown-ID for another drug induced mental health freak out. Last week, I warned city leaders about this encampment across the street from Summit Sierra High. It’s littered with drug supplies, feces, and abandoned tents. Nothing has changed.

Getting Close The mom of 26-year-old Danny Finnegan is in Seattle right now searching for her missing son. He was just spotted a few days ago in the University District. There is a $10K cash reward. Let’s bring Danny home. Spotted Outside University Village Surveillance video showing Danny pushing a shopping cart outside University Village shopping mall in Seattle. Look what he’s wearing.

After criticizing some scholarly articles and books, I have three books to recommend. First, here’s a tribute to 86-year-old psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, author of American Psychosis: How the Federal Government Destroyed the Mental Illness Treatment System (Oxford University Press, 2013). I first met Torrey in 1989 and heard about what was going wrong. Thirty-five years later, it’s even clearer that the federal panaceas have not panned out. Torrey shows how local and state charities and governments cared for mentally ill individuals, sometimes poorly but often adequately, until 1940, by which time state mental hospitals housed 423,445 individuals. During World War II half of the hospitals’ professional staff members were in the armed forces. Torrey: “The hospitals were grossly overcrowded Read More ›