“Sweeps, crackdowns, and mass hospitalizations may make homelessness less visible for a moment, but they don’t solve it. They just push suffering out of view—until it resurfaces again, often worse.”

Ambulances outside Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

I met a man I’ll call “Darrell” near Chelsea Park in Manhattan. He was sitting quietly on a bench, dressed neatly but clearly weathered by life on the street. I offered him a cup of lemonade, and soon he was telling me his story—how he went from stability to homelessness.

Darrell was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his teens. He struggled through college but found a treatment plan that worked. He held a steady job with health insurance that kept him medicated and stable—until 2020, when the pandemic cost him his job, his insurance, and eventually, his grip on reality. Without meds, the voices came back. He stopped looking for work and knew he needed government-subsidized healthcare before things spiraled further. But once he finally received benefits, the earliest psychiatric appointment he could get was eight weeks out.

Darrell’s story isn’t unique. In my 15 years working with people experiencing homelessness in New York and New Jersey, I’ve met hundreds like him. Contrary to popular belief, most aren’t refusing help—they’re caught in systems that are underfunded, understaffed, and overwhelmed. We often call people “service resistant,” but in reality, it’s the services themselves that resist people.

That’s why the recent show of force in Washington, D.C., in response to President Donald Trump’s order that “the homeless have to move out IMMEDIATELY,” is so troubling. Not to be outdone, Mayor Eric Adams has floated his own plan to involuntarily hospitalize people with untreated mental illness or drug use in New York City.

Both Trump and Adams are trying to frame coercion as compassion. But removing people from sight—whether to a hospital ward, a jail cell, or a distant encampment—without addressing the root causes only deepens the crisis and ignores research showing that forced treatment rarely works.

In practice, forced hospitalization often means hours—sometimes days—waiting in an ER hallway because no psychiatric beds are available. New York alone has lost nearly 1,000 psychiatric beds in recent years. Even when a bed is found, discharge usually comes before real stabilization, with no follow-up plan and nowhere to go. The result? More trauma, more mistrust, and more costly cycles of hospitalization, incarceration, and street homelessness.

Even if such measures provide temporary stability, the bigger question is: what next? Most cities don’t have nearly enough supportive housing—affordable apartments with built-in services to help people stay well. Waitlists stretch for months, even years. Without housing, people return to the street, and the cycle repeats.

We’ve seen this movie before. Sweeps, crackdowns, and mass hospitalizations may make homelessness less visible for a moment, but they don’t solve it. They just push suffering out of view—until it resurfaces again, often worse.

There is a better way, and we already know what it looks like. People need timely access to care, not police escorts. They need mobile mental health teams that meet them where they are. They need respite care after hospitalizations, and case managers who stick with them beyond a single crisis. And most of all, they need housing—because treatment without stability rarely lasts.

The impulse behind these high-profile crackdowns may be to respond to suffering. But homelessness and mental illness aren’t solved through control. They’re addressed through care, compassion, and infrastructure. The opposite of homelessness isn’t hospitalization—it’s housing. It’s healthcare. It’s dignity.

And it’s a system that helps people before they fall—so they don’t end up on a park bench, waiting for care that may never come. Or worse: locked in an ambulance, only to be discharged back to the same street, three days later, more broken than before.

Josiah Haken is the CEO of City Relief, a non-profit dedicated to connecting the unhoused community to hope and resources.

The post Opinion: Forced Hospitalization Isn’t the Answer—Housing, Healthcare, and Compassion Are appeared first on City Limits.

By DORANY PINEDA, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Earlier this year, several environmental groups sent a petition to the federal government with a seemingly simple message: Ensure that water from the imperiled Colorado River is not wasted and only being delivered for “reasonable” and “beneficial” uses.

The organizations urged the Bureau of Reclamation to use its authority to curb water waste in the Lower Basin states: California, Arizona and Nevada. They argued it was necessary to help address the river’s water shortages.

The concept of reasonable and beneficial use is not new, but it’s being discussed at a crucial moment. Chronic overuse, drought and rising temperatures linked to climate change have shrunk water flows. States reliant on the river are approaching a 2026 deadline to decide on new rules for sharing its supplies, and they have until mid-November to reach a preliminary agreement or risk federal intervention.

The petitioning groups argue reducing water waste could help ensure the river has a sustainable future. But others worry cuts could bring hardship to farmers and consumers.

The river supports 40 million people across seven U.S. states, two states in Mexico and Native American tribes.

“We don’t have a management future for the Colorado River right now and it’s getting pretty scary,” said Mark Gold, adjunct professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and former director of water scarcity solutions with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a petition group. “We should be dealing with this as a water scarcity emergency, and one of the things that you really want to do in an emergency is, let’s deal with water waste first.”

The bureau has not responded to the petition. In a statement to The Associated Press, the agency said it continues to operate with the agreements and rules in place and has other strategies to “reduce the risk of reaching critical elevations” at the river’s reservoirs, Lakes Powell and Mead.

FILE – People walk by a formerly sunken boat standing upright along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Jan. 27, 2023, near Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Defining ‘beneficial’ and ‘reasonable’ is not easy

A bureau code says “deliveries of Colorado River water to each Contractor will not exceed those reasonably required for beneficial use.”

But Cara Horowitz, director of UCLA’s Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic, wasn’t sure what that meant or how it’s applied. So she and her students sought to find out with government records.

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“As best as we could tell, it’s never defined the phrase and it does not use the phrase in any meaningful way as it’s making water delivery decisions,” said Horowitz, who is representing the groups. They believe the bureau needs a reformed process to determine whether states are avoiding wasteful and unreasonable use. In the petition, the groups urged the bureau to address those issues and perform periodic reviews of water use.

Experts say that defining reasonable and beneficial use could be challenging, but some argue it’s worth a try. Others worry that allowing an authority to determine what’s wasteful could have negative impacts.

“It’s potentially a whole can of worms that we need to approach very carefully,” said Sarah Porter, the Kyl Center for Water Policy director at Arizona State University. “Who gets to be the entity that decides what’s an appropriate amount of use for any particular water user or community?”

The groups see it differently. For example, they think farmers should be incentivized to change “wasteful” irrigation practices and consider growing crops better suited for certain climates. An example they gave of “unreasonable” use is year-round flood irrigation of thirsty crops in deserts. In cities and industries, wasteful use includes watering ornamental turf or using water-intensive cooling systems.

In a 2003 case, the bureau invoked the provision when it ordered water reductions to California’s Imperial Irrigation District, the largest river water user, after determining it couldn’t beneficially use it all. The district sued and the dispute eventually settled.

FILE – Farmer Larry Cox walks in a field of Bermudagrass with his dog, Brodie, at his farm Aug. 15, 2022, in Imperial Valley near Brawley, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Concerns from farmers and cities

California’s Imperial Valley relies 100% on Colorado River water. The desert’s temperate, mild winters are ideal for growing two-thirds of winter vegetables consumed nationally.

Andrew Leimgruber, a fourth-generation farmer here, has tried to reduce his use with water-savings programs. He grows crops like carrots, onions and mostly alfalfa, which he often flood-irrigates because it fills the plant’s deep root system. For up to 60 days in the summer, he doesn’t water it at all.

Water cuts because of “unreasonable” use could mean people won’t be able to eat a Caesar salad in New York City in January, Leimgruber said. He worries about short-term food shortages and putting farmers out of business.

Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the agency supports an annual process to ensure water is being beneficially used, even as that definition changes, but he doesn’t think it’s meant to solve the river’s existential crisis. He worries invoking this tool could result in litigation. “Once things go to court, there’s always a wild card that’s sort of out of anyone’s control.”

FILE – The Hoover Dam appears on the Colorado River, Aug. 22, 2024, near Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

A California provision as a model

Some experts point to California’s constitution as a potential model, which contains a provision on reasonable and beneficial use. How that is interpreted is fluid and decided by state water regulators, or the courts.

“The way it’s written is actually very adaptable to the times, so it’s actually about what is wasted and reasonable use in a given time,” said Felicia Marcus, fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West program and former chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board. “So things that would have seemed to be reasonable 50 years ago, no longer are.”

The state water board has invoked its beneficial and reasonable use provision in times of drought, for example, to help support using less water in cities. It’s deemed washing sidewalks or washing cars in driveways as unreasonable. In another case, the water agency argued and won that it was unreasonable for a senior water rights holder to take so much water that fish couldn’t swim to cold water refuges.

Water regulators have also threatened to apply their unreasonable use authority to get the holders of water rights to better manage their use. “It’s a tool that gets used as both a threat and a backstop,” said Marcus.

FILE – Augustin Rodriguez gets hoses ready on the back of his water truck as he delivers at a home across the street from a large sign that reads “conserve water,” in Spanish, May 9, 2023, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Addressing shortages requires multiple approaches

Leimgruber, the Imperial Valley farmer, said limiting population growth and expansion in arid areas could help. John Boelts, a farmer and Arizona Farm Bureau president, suggested more desalination projects. And Noah Garrison, a water researcher at UCLA, found in a recent study he co-authored that states could do more to recycle wastewater.

Still, as decades-long droughts plague parts of the basin and with critical deadlines approaching, some experts say it’s time for the bureau to be more assertive.

“There’s responsibility here to be the water master on the river or it gets thrown to the Supreme Court, which will take years to work its way through,” said Marcus. The “beneficial use petition is one way to say, ‘Here’s a tool you have, step up and consider it.’”

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

Minnesota United has six key players coming up on the end of their contracts and Khaled El-Ahmad addressed the status of each on Tuesday.

Three veterans — Michael Boxall, Wil Trapp and Robin Lod — are in the final year of their deals this season, but all have one-year club options for the 2026 season. It appears at least the majority of that trio will be back when those are picked up for next season.

El-Ahmad, the Loons’ chief soccer officer, said he is “happy” with the performance of all three this season. The group of 30-somethings have all played more than 2,000 minutes so far this season and have helped lead MNUFC to second place in the Western Conference heading into the stretch run toward the MLS Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open Cup semifinal.

“(Boxall has) probably had one of his best seasons,” El-Ahmad said this week. “And I’ve always said it that we want Boxy to to be with us for as long as he and we want. And I think he continues to improve, stays healthy, and we should, knock on wood, have our captain competing (for New Zealand) in the (FIFA) World Cup at our soil, which is an amazing story.”

El-Ahmad said the same goes for Trapp. “If you look at probably the last year and a half, you’ve seen a more reenergized Trapp,” he said. “I think he’s done a great job.”

On Lod, El-Ahmad didn’t say as much: “Lod has an option. Happy with him as well.”

Those three players have been integral to United’s spine for the last few seasons, but are on big salary numbers going into age-33 seasons for Lod and Trapp and age-38 season for Boxall. Lod is the Loons’ highest-paid player at $1.68 million; Boxall is the fifth at $827,500; Trapp is further down the Loons’ list of highest paid at $554,500, according to the MLS Players Association.

MLS All-Star goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and emerging left wingback Anthony Markanich are set to become free agents at the end of the year.

“W’ere in dialog and would like Dayne to stay,” El-Ahmad said.”Same thing with Anthony Markanich.”

St. Clair is tied for second in MLS with nine clean sheets this season and is entering his prime (age 28) as Canada’s No. 1 keeper for the World Cup in the U.S, Canada and Mexico next summer. He is currently earning $631,875, which is well outside the top 10 in MLS, according to MLSPA data.

“It’s a core group of players I’d like to keep,” El-Ahmad said about those five overall. “And then there’s other parties that might have some other expectations or interests, but we’ll manage that as it comes. But from a club perspective, (we) would like to keep all those players.”

El-Ahmad did not mention Hassani Dotson, who suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in March. He will be a free agent at the end of the season, but has returned to some training drills in the last few weeks in Blaine.

Via his agent in January, Dotson’s requested a trade from Minnesota, but he started the season for MNUFC in central midfield. Head coach Eric Ramsay and Trapp both said at the time that Dotson was nothing but professional amid the contract issue. Dotson’s salary is up to $682,500 this year, per MLSPA.

On Tuesday, El-Ahmad was prompted to address where things stand with Dotson’s future.

“I think for Hassani it’s just keep focusing on trying to get healthy,” El-Ahmad said. “It was a significant repair and happy to see him on the pitch training. And I don’t think there’s much to say around that at this moment.”

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have failed to obtain a felony indictment against a man who was seen on camera hurling a sandwich at a federal law enforcement official in the nation’s capital, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

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Sean Charles Dunn was arrested on an assault charge after he threw a sub-style sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent. A video of the incident went viral, and shortly after he was fired from the Justice Department, where he worked as an international affairs specialist in the department’s criminal division.

The case is one of the examples of the legal pushback to President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington that has led to more than 1,000 arrests. It is highly unusual for grand jurors to refuse to return an indictment, and it was once said that prosecutors could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”

Grand jurors decide in secret proceedings whether there is enough evidence for an indictment, and prosecutors could go back to try again in Dunn’s case. The person briefed on the failure to obtain an indictment against Dunn on Tuesday was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A message seeking comment was sent Wednesday to a spokesperson for the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, whose office is prosecuting the case. An attorney for Dunn declined to comment.

The New York Times first reported the development.

Dunn’s arrest came in one of the first days after Trump’s Aug. 11 order for federal agents and troops to flood Washington. Authorities say Dunn approached a group of CBP agents, pointed a finger in an agent’s face and swore at him, calling him a “fascist,” a police affidavit says. An observer’s video captured Dunn throwing a sandwich at the agent’s chest, the affidavit says.

“Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn shouted, according to police.

Dunn tried to run away but was apprehended, police said. He was initially released and then was rearrested by federal agents. A video of agents going to arrest and handcuff him was posted online by an official White House X account.

Defense lawyers and at least one federal judge have raised concerns over the federal government’s handling of arrests on charges that, in many cases, would typically be handled by local authorities instead of federal prosecutors. One magistrate judge this week scolded prosecutors over a case against a man who was jailed for a week before prosecutors decided to drop the case. The judge called it “the most illegal search I have ever seen in my life.”

In another recent case, prosecutors in Washington acknowledged that three grand juries had voted separately against indicting a woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent outside the city’s jail in July, where she was recording video of the transfer of inmates into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Rebuffed by the grand juries, Pirro’s office is pursuing a misdemeanor assault charge against Sydney Lori Reid instead.

On Tuesday, Scott J. Pichon, 33, was arrested on a charge that he spit on two Army National Guard members from South Carolina who were patrolling near Union Station, the city’s transit hub, on Friday. Pichon faces a felony assault charge that carries a maximum prison sentence of eight years.

Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.