Treatment Not Jail

The safest communities are the healthiest communities. Invest in treatment, not jail.

For decades, New Yorkers dealing with mental health and substance use issues have been funneled into our jails and prisons and denied the treatment they need to get better.  

Our jails have become our largest psychiatric facilities in the country, and when people emerge from them, they are more traumatized and destabilized than ever. 

A New York State bill, the Treatment Not Jail Act,  will provide off-ramps from the revolving door of jail and prison for those who are brought into the criminal legal system due to underlying mental health and substance use issues. 

Learn more about the bill.