"We are failing our most vulnerable neighbors. I've seen people in a psychiatric crisis-yelling, banging their heads on walls to stop the intrusive hallucinations-with no trained staff responding, only corrections officers watching from a distance. We must stop using jail cells-designed for punishment, not healing-as a psychiatric ward. Locking people in crisis inside a system of isolation and trauma only deepens the very cycle of harm we claim to be addressing."
"New York City spends over a half a million dollars a year to incarcerate one person on Rikers-a cost that produces violence and instability. By contrast, Alternatives to Incarceration (ATIs) are more effective than incarceration at improving employment rates for participants, generating significant savings for taxpayers, and preventing future convictions. Indeed, where at least 35.5 percent of people with mental illness on Rikers will return to Department of Corrections custody within one year of their release."
A personal history of incarceration at Rikers Island describes witnessing beatings, suicides, and untreated medical distress, creating long-lasting dehumanization. Rikers remains torturous and preventable deaths continue to escalate. Psychiatric crises are frequently met without trained clinical response, leaving corrections officers to observe rather than provide care. Jail cells are designed for punishment, not healing, and confinement deepens cycles of harm. New York City spends over half a million dollars annually per person incarcerated on Rikers, a cost linked to violence and instability. Alternatives to Incarceration (ATIs) improve employment outcomes, save taxpayer money, and reduce future convictions, with program evidence showing markedly lower recidivism for participants. ATIs operate as holistic, trauma-informed interventions focused on prevention and rehabilitation.
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