Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
“For those who are dealing with the profound challenge of serious mental illness—you’re not alone. Your city sees you, and we are here to help,” Mayor de Blasio said.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a new, comprehensive effort to support New Yorkers experiencing serious mental illness.
According to Hizzoner, through a range of new investments, the City will build on its existing resources to create a new, flexible model for mental health care to reach more New Yorkers and help them stay connected to care.
To help New Yorkers with the most serious mental health needs stay connected to care, the City is significantly expanding community-based treatment options, including:
25 new Intensive Mobile Treatment teams: Created in 2016 by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene with support from ThriveNYC, Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) has reached directly into communities to bring mental health care to New Yorkers who have been poorly served by traditional care systems — such as New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders and those involved with the criminal justice system. IMT’s peers, nurses, social workers, and psychiatrists work to ensure that clients stay connected to care over time. From launch, 90% of clients have stayed in services for a year or more and 39% of clients who were unhoused, many experiencing street homelessness, have moved into housing. The 25 new IMT teams will serve 675 more people, eliminating IMT’s current waiting list. New teams will begin accepting referrals in August 2021.
Adding more Clubhouse Capacity: Clubhouses are spaces where people experiencing serious mental illness can build social connections, get resources and find a supportive community. The City will expand clubhouse membership by 25 percent, from the current 3,000 to 3,750 by Dec. 31, 2021. The City will also invest in engagement strategies to help spread the word about Clubhouses and reach those experiencing homelessness and other populations needing a higher level of support. Clubhouse members and staff will conduct outreach and enrollment activities citywide at sites which serve these populations such as soup kitchens, pantries, shelters, justice related settings and hospitals and geographic areas and settings where they may reside such as Times Square, parks, train and subway stations.
Launching CONNECT: The Continuous Engagement between Community and Clinic Treatment (CONNECT) will be a new, innovative program that will serve up to 850 clients with serious mental illness with integrated mobile and brick-and-mortar treatment. Through this innovative and flexible model of care, clients will be able to engage in intense mental health and substance use treatment and services that aim to address social determinants of health, such as housing insecurity or employment. The program model is expected to begin serving clients by January 2022.
These three strategies will be managed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, with programmatic oversight from the Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC.
“As we rebuild from the pandemic and drive a recovery for all of us, our mission to bring mental health care to every New Yorker has never been more urgent,” de Blasio added. “For those who are dealing with the profound challenge of serious mental illness—you’re not alone. Your city sees you, and we are here to help.”
