Jordan Neely’s story in Man in the Mirror by Anand Giridharadas shows how quickly mental illness and homelessness become a label that shuts the door on compassion. I don’t know what it is to live without a home. I do know mental illness: I’ve lived with severe bipolar for over thirty years, including debilitating psychosis in the early years of my diagnosis. I share why I understand some of the behavior we so often fear, and three small ways to practice compassion, even when we don’t understand.

I’m not here to discuss the trial or its outcome. Jordan Neely was fourteen when his mother was murdered. By 2023, he was living on the streets of New York, and when he died on a subway train after being held in a chokehold, the story most people heard was much shorter: a homeless man, mental health issues. When I was at my most unwell, I had doctors, treatment, and people who stayed with me. So many people living with mental illness on the streets have none of that.

I close with words that shook me to my core: “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” These words are often attributed to the philosopher J. Krishnamurti.

If you live with mental illness, love someone who does, or have ever looked away from someone struggling on the street, this conversation is for us. Share this with someone who cares about mental health and their city.

In this episode you will learn:

• Jordan Neely’s story: losing his mother at fourteen, and his life before that day on the subway
• The media shorthand “had mental health issues”, and how it ends our compassion and curiosity to understand more
• Mental illness and violent crime: why people with severe mental illness are around 11 times more likely to be victims of violent crime, according to a Northwestern University study
• Living with bipolar and psychosis: my early years of losing control, and the care that changed my story
• Why we look away from people experiencing homelessness
• Three small ways to practice compassion, even when we don’t understand

The book: Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City by Anand Giridharadas (Knopf, 2026)

Research referenced: Northwestern University study of violent crime against people with severe mental illness (Teplin et al., 2005)

Episode 98, Should You Try IV Ketamine? | My Experience, Bipolar & Neuroplasticity, is where I share the IV ketamine treatment I mention in this episode: [YouTube link]

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