Chance Martin

In the subsequent viewpoint, Chance Martin contends that involuntary outpatient commitment—which forces treatment or hospital confinement on unwilling individuals—is an attack on the civil rights of the mentally ill. The homeless mentally ill should not be drugged or locked up against their will; instead, they should be offered voluntary, community-based mental health treatment. Martin is the editor of Street Sheet, a publication of the National Coalition on Homelessness, in San Francisco. He has experienced homelessness and forced treatment due to severe psychiatric disability.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What are the different types of involuntary outpatient commitment, according to the author?
2. In the author’s view, who are the victims of involuntary commitment?
3. How were the mentally ill treated during the Holocaust, as stated...