From our sidewalks to the subway vehicles we take every single day, the visceral actuality of our fellow New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and psychological sickness is dire. Whether or not crime is up or down means little or no if our mayor and governor proceed failing to handle the very the explanation why so many individuals discover themselves in such public states of despair.
Metropolis and state leaders too usually revert to symbolic and expensive measures – putting Nationwide Guard troops, cops, scanners and robots at subway stations – to struggle perceptions of hazard. As an alternative of a care-first strategy that connects New Yorkers to companies that comply with finest medical practices, persons are shuffled away right into a cycle of understaffed and under-resourced services with unknown outcomes. This costly politicking has didn’t make New Yorkers really feel secure and might now not exchange a critical dedication to the evidence-based options we deserve.
The Progressive Caucus is dedicated to making sure high quality look after the individuals who want it and dignified work circumstances for many who present that care. We’ll quickly be releasing a plan targeted on the cornerstones of a robust psychological well being and public security infrastructure: 1) making certain our metropolis delivers a disaster response system that staffs up groups with medical consultants and peer specialists to satisfy wants; 2) scaling up a completely funded psychological well being care system; and three) uplifting the fabric circumstances of the employees who present this very important care. We envision this work as the start of a yearslong push for a metropolis that gives the infrastructure, transparency and accountability essential for true group security.
Whereas it appears Mayor Eric Adams has a newfound dedication to tackling this difficult problem, for 3 years, the Adams administration has actively undermined the foundations of our metropolis’s psychological well being community. The mayor reduce the quantity of clubhouses out there, leaving gaps in important psychological well being programming that the Metropolis Council stepped as much as fill; he defunded drug remedy applications; and he swept away homeless encampments whereas refusing to repair our supportive housing system.
We discover ourselves in yet one more mess of the mayor’s personal making. The administration has defunded options to the cycle of incarceration and let waitlists balloon for initiatives designed to interrupt that very cycle. With Rikers now serving as “New York’s Largest Psychological Establishment,” it’s not rocket science to see how and why we acquired the place we’re, and it doesn’t need to be this fashion.
Dwelling with psychological sickness shouldn’t be a criminal offense. Town’s EMTs, social staff, public defenders and peer specialists deserve dignity, coaching and an opportunity to do their jobs. And our caucus is dedicated to creating New York a more healthy and safer place to stay.
