Portland Area Hospitals Are Criminalizing Mental Illness According To New Report
Portland, Ore – Advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon looked at a years worth of police reports about people arrested for trespassing at area hospitals.
What they found is that hospitals are relying on police to remove people who they consider unwanted. Sarah Radcliffe with the group who published the report, says these ‘unwanted’ were predominantly people of color, homeless, and suffering some sort of mental illness. She says the results are taxing police resources and criminalizing mental illness.
Disability Rights Oregon says the report highlights the need for greater investment mental health care and housing.
In a statement Provenance Health says they have been reviewing their security procedures since Disability Rights Oregon contacted them with concerns. They also thanked Disability Rights Oregon’s concern for vulnerable patients.