Joyce Patricia Brown

Who is Joyce Patricia Brown?

Joyce Patricia Brown was a mentally ill homeless person who defeated New York City's efforts to force her into a psychiatric treatment program. Her case set legal precedents for forced psychiatric care which have hamstrung involuntary psychiatric commitments of the homeless in New York and elsewhere.

In late 1987, NYC Mayor Ed Koch announced a new program for removing mentally disturbed homeless people from the streets, based on a state law allowing involuntary hospitalization of mentally ill people who were considered dangerous. Brown was the first homeless person to be involuntarily committed to a treatment program under the new program.

Brown was born on September 7, 1947 and became a secretary, living with her parents until they died in 1979, and then living with her sisters. She reportedly admitted to drug abuse including heroin and cocaine, and was arrested for an assault in Newark, New Jersey in 1982. In 1985, her sisters took her to East Orange General Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, where she was diagnosed as psychotic, was treated with antipsychotic medications, and was put in restraints after attempting assaults on the staff. In May, 1986, after an argument, she left her sisters' home and apparently became homeless.