As part of a comprehensive approach to public health and safety in New York City, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams called for targeted investments in key initiatives. At a joint hearing of the City Council Committees on Health and on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction, he emphasized the cascading consequences of a lack of resources for mental health care.
“Barriers to effective care include a host of issues related to lack of adequate insurance, stigma and discrimination, lack of access to stable housing, etc,” said Public Advocate Williams before the committees. “The increased visibility and vulnerability of these individuals, compounded with a decrease in resources as cities around the country struggle to meet demand, have devastating consequences.”
The Public Advocate pointed to his office's 2019 report and 2022 supplement, Improving New York City’s Responses To Individuals In Mental Health Crisis, and particularly highlighted two areas of potential investment:
Respite Centers - Respite Care Centers are an alternative to hospitalization for those in crisis and serve as temporary stays in supportive settings that allow individuals to maintain their regular schedules and have guests visit. Currently, there are 4 Health Department Community Partners operating respite centers serving adult New Yorkers, a drop from the 8 centers in 2019. The Administration for Children’s Services also operates a respite program for youth.
Increasing Supportive Housing - Supportive housing is affordable housing with supportive social services in place. Currently, the city is lagging behind in providing supportive housing, with a long and often-delayed application process. This should include supportive housing for incarcerated individuals and individuals re-entering communities post-release.
In addition, Public Advocate Williams called for the preservation and expansion of lifesaving Overdose Prevention Centers, "which opened in 2021 and in their first six months of operation helped prevent over 300 overdoses". He also uplifted the Progressive Caucus' request from last year for "$20 million to shift the city’s two existing OPCs in Manhattan to 24/7 operations and open four additional centers, one in each borough that does not have an OPC.”
Read the Public Advocate’s full comments as prepared below.
TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES ON HEALTH & MENTAL HEALTH, DISABILITIES AND ADDICTION
Good morning,
My name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I thank Chairs Schulman and Lee and the members of the Committees on Health and Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction for holding this hearing today and allowing me the opportunity to testify.
In any given year, more than one in five New Yorkers experience psychiatric illness, with low-income people of more color often unable to access any treatment or support. Barriers to effective care include a host of issues related to lack of adequate insurance, stigma and discrimination, and lack of access to stable housing. The increased visibility and vulnerability of these individuals, compounded with a decrease in resources as cities around the country struggle to meet demand, have devastating consequences. The death of Jordan Neely last year, an unhoused person experiencing a mental health crisis on the subway, is just one example.
Programs like B-HEARD, launched in 2021 to address mental health crisis calls with non-police response cover only a quarter of mental health calls made in the city. B-HEARD teams are established in only 31 of the city’s 77 police precincts. One of the primary challenges has been hiring enough social workers and EMS staff for B-HEARD teams, at a time when EMS staff are already overstretched. The lack of adequately trained staff has led to continuous cuts to the program’s budget. Peer support specialists and other embedded mental health infrastructure could help fill these gaps. The city’s Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs), which opened in 2021 and in their first six months of operation helped prevent over 300 overdoses, is another program that could address serious healthcare gaps in NYC. I want to echo the Progressive Caucus’s request last year for $20 million to shift the city’s two existing OPCs in Manhattan to 24/7 operations and open four additional centers, one in each borough that does not have an OPC.
In addition to this request, I want to highlight and reiterate my support for a few recommendations from my office’s report “Improving New York City’s Responses to Individuals in Mental Health Crisis” released in October of 2019. This report, updated and reissued in November 2022, was informed by conversations with and the work of mental health and justice advocates. I want to uplift the need for:
Respite Centers. Respite Care Centers are an alternative to hospitalization for those in crisis and serve as temporary stays in supportive settings that allow individuals to maintain their regular schedules and have guests visit. Currently, there are 4 Health Department Community Partners operating respite centers serving adult New Yorkers, a drop from the 8 centers in 2019. The Administration for Children’s Services also operates a respite program for youth.
Increasing supportive housing. Supportive housing is affordable housing with supportive social services in place. Currently, the city is lagging behind in providing supportive housing, with a long and often-delayed application process. This should include supportive housing for incarcerated individuals and individuals re-entering communities post-release.
Furthermore, I want to highlight the need for expanded STI testing and sexual health care centers as recent data from DOHMH shows that the number of sexually transmitted diseases has spiked across the city with rates of chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea skyrocketing across demographic groups.
Finally, I want to highlight all the recent and planned hospital closures. Over the past 25 years, we’ve had a total of 20 hospital closures. These closures have disproportionately impacted communities of color, who often bear the burden of adverse health effects. By closing hospitals, we are losing access to beds and precious resources and we cannot afford to go backwards. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health outcomes and further contributed to staff shortages and high rates of turnover. It is our responsibility now to realize the reforms needed and act swiftly to prevent more suffering and loss. I look forward to engaging with this Council, the Adams administration, and communities across the city to address these issues.
Thank you.