Mental Health Courts and Diversion Systems

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As the homeless crisis worsens, mental health systems are pushed to their limits. No state has been able to cape the cost of treating those who come through the system. Hawaii has been trying its hand at reforms, but with marginal impact. An annual assessment in 20 20 found that hawaii was near tied with new york for the highest rate per capita of homelessness in the nation.

The more he insisted that his name was Joshua, the more delusional he came to be seen.

Journalist Robert Kolker tells us the remarkable story of Joshua Spriestersbach, a homeless man who wound up serving more than two years in a Honolulu jail for crimes committed by someone else.

It was a case of mistaken identity that developed into “a slow-motion game of hot potato between the police, the courts, the jails and the hospitals,” Mr. Kolker writes. He delves into how homelessness and mental illness shaped Mr. Spriestersbach’s adult life, two factors that led him into a situation in which he had little control — a bureaucratic wormhole that commandeered and consumed two and a half years of his life.

This story was written by Robert Kolker and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.