May 20 , 2013

Coalition Leadership Awards Event Set for June 27th

After months of displacement from Hurricane Sandy, we are pleased to report that we are back on track and gearing up for our annual Leadership Awards Reception. Each year, community leaders and behavioral health professionals gather at this most celebrated event to honor individuals who have shown commitment and dedication to improving the lives of people with behavioral health disorders and strong service to the behavioral health community. Come out and celebrate our Leadership Awards event on Thursday, June 27, 2013, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at Pfizer World Headquarters on 235 East 42nd Street. Stay tuned for more details on how to purchase tickets and place ads in our e-journal.

Coalition City Budget Advocacy Continues

With Mayor Bloomberg releasing the City’s FY14 Executive Budget on May 2, 2013, The Coalition maintains our advocacy efforts to restore and enhance the behavioral health initiatives sponsored by the City Council each year. It is through the City Council’s Mental Health Contracts initiative that The Coalition’s Professional Learning Center brings unique learning opportunities, technical assistance and training to the City’s community-based behavioral health agencies, helping them survive in an uncertain world filled with mandated reforms. We are also advocating for the Children Under Five Mental Health Initiative which delivers specialized services to a cohort of children exhibiting behavioral difficulties because they have experienced or been exposed to traumas like domestic violence and abuse; Geriatric Mental Health Initiative which allows seniors struggling with depression, anxiety, isolation or bereavement to receive help in community settings like senior centers, social groups, primary healthcare sites and in their own homes. In addition, through support from the City Council, the Mental Hygiene Contracted Services PEG funds agencies that help people with severe mental illness and substance use disorders recover by linking them to appropriate supports and treatment in the community. The FY14 City Budget is scheduled to be passed by June 30, 2013.

Governor Cuomo Announces $91M Affordable Housing Initiative
CAMBA is NYC Service Provider

On May 7, 3013, Governor Cuomo announced $91 million in awards to build 2,060 units of affordable housing across New York State. In New York City, $1.7 million will leverage new construction of 80 rental units for low-income households, including 40 units for those who are or are at serious risk of becoming chronically homeless. Supportive services for these households will be provided by CAMBA, a Coalition member. Rental subsidies for half of these units will be provided by the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) as part of the NYNYIII agreement with the City of New York. In the Mid-Hudson region, $2.9 million create 42 rental units for low-income families, with 13 set aside for persons with special needs, including 5 units for persons living with AIDS. The Mid-Hudson awards will involve coordinated investment with NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).

OMH Wraps Up Listening Tour on Centers for Excellence

Kristen Woodlock, Acting Commissioner of the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) just finished her statewide listening tour to gather feedback for a strategic business plan to consolidate and reconfigure OMH’s inpatient Psychiatric Centers, transforming a portion into outpatient services. The Coalition attended the forum held in New York City on May 3, 2013, and submitted comments. We view this as a significant opportunity for enhanced care while saving state resources. At the same time, we want to make sure that the services offered in the new Regional Centers of Excellence are not duplicative or competitive with the community-based system. We suggested “gap filling” ideas like the provision of intensive crisis services, temporary residences for step-down and diversionary services, respite services for families, enhancing mental health care in prisons, as well as a number of programs that would develop linkages from inpatient care to community. Recommendations are due to be out next week. Stay tuned for more details.

NYC Jails to Pursue Treatment Approaches for Inmates with Mental Illness

The New York Times reports that beginning in July, New York City will implement treatment oriented approaches for people with mental illness in jail rather than enforcing disciplinary repercussions when they break the rules. According to the article, more than one third of people in City jails have a mental illness, and about a third of them have serious mental illnesses like major depression and schizophrenia. Inmates with mental illness are more likely not to adhere to rules in jail, multiple times a day, resulting in solitary confinement. Under the new approach, when inmates with serious mental illness break rules, they will be transferred to an internal clinic for treatment and medicine. Those with less serious mental illness will be assigned to counseling programs.

Full edition of Briefs »

Coalition - Sandy Update

May 15, 2013: Our phone service has been restored, a full, 6 1/2 months after the storm! Our number is 212-742-1600.