In ancient Greece and Rome, asylum was a place where those who were persecuted could seek sanctuary and refuge. Those persons included debtors, criminals, mistreated slaves, and inhabitants of other states. Is there a group of American citizens more deserving of safety and refuge than people with severe mental illness (SMI) who have traded one level of confinement in state mental hospitals for another in our nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, jails, and prisons—or, worse, become homeless? This paper reviews trends in the trans-institutionalization of people with SMI and proposes that it is time we offer asylum, in the best sense of the word, to the most vulnerable of the people with severe mental illness.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1937-7010 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/virtualmentor.2013.15.10.mhst1-1310 ID - ref1 ER -