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After being released from a mental hospital in January 1988, Joyce Brown seemed to have a new start in life. As one of the first homeless people picked up in Mayor Ed Koch's program to take people suspected of being mentally ill off the street, Ms.Brown won a controversial test case when a judge ruled that she could not be forced to submit to treatment. The former "Billie Boggs," as she named herself, appeared on Donahue and lectured to Harvard Law School students on the plight of the homeless. She found housing in a seedy hotel in Times Square area. Last week, however, there were signs that Brown's new found status had not cured her deeper problems. She was spotted back on the street, begging for money and shouting obscenities at passersby. The following day Brown claimed that she had needed cash for cigarettes and food. "I'm not insane," she insisted. It remains to be seen whether Brown has sacrificed her well-being by standing up for her rights.

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16y ago

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