The New Asylum: Jails How Serious Mental Illness, Homelessness, and a Broken Promise of Community Care Turned American Jails into the Default Institutions for the Severely Ill

“The New Asylum: Jails”

Beyond Stabilization founder Tammy Willoughby examines how untreated serious mental illness and homelessness have turned American jails into the default institutions for people with SMI.

It traces the problem to the incomplete implementation of the 1963 Community Mental Health Act—the last major bill signed by President John F. Kennedy—which promised community-based care to replace large state hospitals but left a vacuum of housing, treatment, and support.

Tammy talks about how mental healthcare is long overdue for systemic reform focused on continuity of care, supportive housing, and alternatives to incarceration.