PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jenna Shugart, Mental Health Service Provider and NAMI NYC Ambassador
5:35:18
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125 sec
Jenna Shugart, a mental health service provider and NAMI NYC ambassador, shared a personal story highlighting the need for improved mental health crisis response in New York City. She advocated for the removal of police from non-violent mental health crisis calls and supported the testimony provided by CCIT NYC.
- Shared a story about "Sarah," a woman with schizophrenia, to illustrate the negative impact of police involvement in mental health crises
- Emphasized the importance of having mental health professionals and peers respond to crisis calls instead of police
- Called for restoring funding to the B-HEARD program and implementing a more person-centered approach to crisis response
Jenna Shugart
5:35:18
Thank you to the chairs and the committee members for holding this hearing today.
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My name is Jenna Shugar, and I'm a Bushwick resident and a mental health service provider.
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I advocate for proper crisis response to our community by being a Nami MYC ambassador.
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I'm here to support the testimony provided by CCIT MYC.
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As a former counselor in a psychiatric group home, I'd like to share a real example of the impact of crisis response.
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This individual's name has been changed to protect her privacy.
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Sarah lives with schizophrenia.
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One day, Sarah locked herself in the bathroom and started screaming, banging her hands on her body, and pleading for help.
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I called for 911, assuming a trained health professional would arrive.
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I explained that while she was experiencing a psychotic episode, she was not a threat to others and had no history of violence.
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Police showed up, handcuffed her, and took her to the hospital in the back of a police car.
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She was discharged hours later and proceeded to lock herself in the bathroom again and resume yelling, hitting herself and begging for help.
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I called 911 again, but Sarah refused to go with the police this time.
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I drove Sarah back to the emergency room myself and advocated for her treatment the entire time.
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Ever since Sarah got the support she needed, she has been living the past 2 years free of any psychotic episode, I understand now that while she was in crisis and having hallucinations, she needed somebody there who could deescalate the situation in an appropriate way and advocate for her.
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Sarah's story shows the distress that can be provoked by an improper crisis response.
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And by having mental health professionals and peers answer these calls rather than police, this whole situation could have been avoided.
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CCIT calls for police to be completely removed from nonviolent mental health crisis calls and for shifting the model to a more person centered approach.
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This will require some investments starting with restoring the program to eliminate the gap cuts in the adopted budget.
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Thank you for listening to my testimony.
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I look forward to a brighter future where B.
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H.
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Can ensure that New Yorkers experiencing a mental health crisis received the response they deserve.
