You can blame anyone you like. This is a free country. But the NY Times, unlike Breitbart and Fox "News" is not in the business of spreading disinformation and propaganda. Granted, they do it once in a while, such as reporter Judith Miller repeating White House lies about Saddam's WMD's, but they are usually very reliable.

The closing of mental institutions was in large part a 1971 initiative by your hero, Ronald Reagan, who kicked thousands of severely psychotic patients out onto the street, but failed to provide any funding to deal with them in the community. http://www.salon.com/2013/09/29/ronald_reagans_shameful_legacy_violence_the_homeless_mental_illness/