(Jan. 3, 2014) Fifteen years ago today, 32-year-old Kendra Webdale was pushed to her death in front of an oncoming subway train in New York City by Andrew Goldstein, a man with untreated schizophrenia.
New York recognized the significance of her preventable death by passing an assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) law, known as Kendra's Law, six months later to help those with severe mental illness who struggle with treatment adherence.
In the years since, New York has emerged as a leader in the use of court-ordered outpatient treatment, though the state’s criteria for providing court-ordered treatment in a hospital remain woefully inadequate, as noted by the Treatment Advocacy Center’s Brian Stettin in a 2013 New York Daily News op-ed.
Multiple studies have documented the effectiveness of Kendra’s Law in improving outcomes for its target population, enhancing public safety, and conserving scarce mental health resources.
As we do every year on this date, we pause today to pay tribute to the remarkable and inspiring Webdale family, who almost immediately after Kendra’s death began channeling their grief into advocacy for mental health reform. Thanks to them, something horrible led to something great. Our thoughts are with the family on this painful anniversary.
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