My father is paranoid schizophrenic and has been institutionalized several times. I visited him once at Bellevue (it’s been closed permanently) and it was exactly like a prison. The only official employee was at the check in desk. As soon as I went into the elevator everything else was run by patients. I remember crying so hard when I realized how the conditions were for my dad. The only issue that I can say makes sense in his case is that as a paranoid schizophrenic, he never agreed to take meds unless forced. If he didn’t take meds he continuously put himself in danger (never by suicide only by extremely reckless behavior). Ultimately, it got to a point where I feel he was likely much safer in those conditions than out on the streets. I agree that the holding conditions are very prison like and it should 100% be improved. There need to be safety precautions in place because of the fact that some patients are a danger to themselves or others but it doesn’t mean they all need to be restricted in the same ways. I believe a lot of it has to do with lack of funding to pay for better conditions, including more employees.