I’ll be presenting a paper at the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) 2019 AMP, along with Melissa Murphy (Doctoral Student, Florida State University). Our paper is titled: Involuntary Commitment During Natural Disaster: An Ethical and Policy Analysis. In it, we examine the justifications for and ethical implications of coercing homeless individuals refusing shelter during Hurricane Michael (Septermber, 2017).
We argue that while the use of force may be ethically permitted, the justifications provided and the means used, by local stakeholders (officials, police, social workers, psychiatrists, etc.) leave much to be desired. We close by considering alternative policy strategies that may be preferable.
The conference runs from October 24–27, 2019 and is in Denver, Colorado. If you are in the area, feel free to come by and say hi.
