Some 250,000 people live with mental health problems in New York City ranging from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. And at least 40% of them do not receive treatment. The number of people with mental illness has increased by 60 percent in the last decade, which is why the city is investing $20 million in the ‘Care, Community and Action’ initiative,
“They will see a variety of social services, support services, mental health care, medication assisted treatment, primary care, basic needs like food, clothing and laundry. Help centers don’t work until those things are supportive. Part of the goal here is to invest in our 14 syringe service providers to bring them up to speed and even consider opening more help centers,” says Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health.
The plan also includes telehealth for teens, mobile treatment with professionals instead of police, and aims to reduce overdose deaths by 15 percent by 2025. Overdose deaths killed 2,700 New Yorkers in 2021. Drug abuse is connected with mental health problems, and life expectancy in New York has declined since 2019 at a faster rate than in the rest of the country. One in 3 teens has thought about committing suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“I welcome the mayor’s program for wanting to increase access to mental health in the community, he talks about opening clubs for people with mental problems, that’s a good idea. But we also need more long-term care. I think we need to train more mental health professionals, because we have a shortage of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers and psychiatric nurses among others in this country”, comments James Gilligan, Psychiatrist and professor at New York University.
The pandemic has also compounded this crisis, leaving more than 8,000 children orphaned by one parent and signs of mental health problems have begun to show in people as young as 11, according to Department of Health statistics.
