Village Candidate Unveils Plan To Address Mental Illness In NY

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen City Council candidate Erik Bottcher calls it the "shadow pandemic," of serious mental illness in New York City — and he released an eight-point plan on Monday to confront the issue head-on.

Informed by his own experience as a survivor of mental health challenges, Bottcher's proposal includes the disposal of mental health crisis response teams in Lower Manhattan, an increase in the number of crisis stabilization centers, building more supportive housing for people with mental illness and more.

"When I was 15 years old, I was admitted to a mental health facility in upstate New York called Four Winds Hospital," Bottcher said in a news release. "Difficult as the experience was, the 30 days of care that I received at Four Winds saved my life. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how privileged I was. Most Americans do not have sufficient access to behavioral health care, especially BIPOC people, undocumented people, and those living in poverty."

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Here are the eight points the City Council 3 candidate includes in his mental health plan:

1. Stop the Closure of Inpatient Psychiatric Beds

• "New York City accountsfor 72 percent of the decline in inpatient psychiatric beds between 2000 and 2019, a total loss of 459 beds. This loss of clinical space hasn’t been replaced by community-based services. Instead, patients have been funneled into the carceral system and shelter system. New York State needs to stop the decertification of inpatient psychiatric beds."

2. Dispatch Mobile Mental Health Crisis Response Teams on the West Side

• "In November, Mayor de Blasio announced a pilot program in which health professionals and crisis workers would be dispatched to respond to mental health crises.That program is being piloted in Northern Manhattan beginning this spring. Unfortunately, we do not have time to wait for a lengthy pilot program to be completed before expanding this program. For too long, armed police officers have been the default first responders to mental health crises, and this must change."

3. Increase Crisis Stabilization Centers

• "When unhoused New Yorkers experiencing mental health crises are brought to the hospital, they are released after they are medically stabilized. Frequently, they are not sick enough to stay in the hospital, but are too sick to return to a shelter or the streets. Crisis stabilization centers, also known as medical respite beds, fill this critical need, giving people time and space to recuperate. This provides a critical opportunity to connect them with social services."

4. Build Supportive Housing

• "We must greatly accelerate the construction of permanent supportive housing for people with mental illness. Supportive housing is affordable housing that offers case management and other supportive services. Extensive evidence has shown that permanent supportive housing is the best way for people with mental health challenges to lead full lives outside of hospital settings, the shelter system or the criminal justice system."

5. Embrace and Expand the "Clubhouse Model" of Psychosocial Rehab

• "The Clubhouse Model, created decades ago by Hell’s Kitchen’s own Fountain House and now used internationally, is a community-based service model that helps people with a history of serious mental illness rejoin society and maintain their place in it. Clubhouses are community centers where people with mental illness can find opportunities for friendship, employment, housing, education and access to medical and psychiatric services in a caring and safe environment."

6. Revamp Discharge Services For Incarcerated New Yorkers

"The State should enact A.6458 (Weprin) and S.2792 (Sepulveda), which would require the state to assist people in obtaining housing prior to release from a correctional institution. The bill would also obligate the state to reimburse local social services districts, such as New York City, for each discharge to a temporary shelter in that district. These funds could be used to ensure proper supportive services, like behavioral health care."

7. Increase School-Based Behavioral Health

"Serious mental illness often begins to take shape in adolescence. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical, which is why school-based health and social services are essential. At a minimum, schools must have nurses, counselors and social workers on-site who are trained to identify warning signs of behavioral health issues and make referrals to behavioral health professionals."

8. Redirect ThriveNYC Funds to Address Serious Mental Illness

"As of 2019, roughly 10 percent of ThriveNYC’s $250 million annual budget was spent on serving those with serious mental illness. Although City Hall has said it would begin diverting more funding to this purpose, hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been spent addressing this issue in recent years were not. This was a big missed opportunity. While some effective programs have been brought under the ThriveNYC umbrella, an overall shift in priorities is needed to address this crisis."

You can read Bottcher's full plan to address mental illness in New York City here.