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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jim Bohovich, Steering Committee Member of Correct Crisis Intervention Today NYC (CCIT-NYC)
4:07:02
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129 sec
Jim Bohovich, a peer specialist with personal experience of mental health issues, provided testimony on de-escalation techniques and the importance of peer support in mental health crisis response. He emphasized the critical role of listening and maintaining a calm demeanor in de-escalation efforts.
- Bohovich highlighted his extensive experience in various mental health settings, including mobile crisis teams and inpatient units.
- He offered to volunteer his data analysis skills to help with the B-HEARD program evaluation.
- Bohovich stressed the pervasiveness of mental health crises in New York City and the value of peer specialists in providing hope and support.
Jim Bohovich
4:07:02
Good afternoon, Council members and chairs.
4:07:05
Thanks for allowing me the privilege to speak today.
4:07:08
My name is Jim Bahovitch.
4:07:09
I've been a peer specialist for 10 years.
4:07:12
I've had bipolar disorder and PTSD for 30 plus years.
4:07:16
I currently work on an IMT team at Community Access.
4:07:19
I'm a steering committee member for CCIT.
4:07:23
I've worked on an inpatient unit at Kings County Hospital.
4:07:26
I've worked in Kansas and Cleveland, Ohio on mobile crisis teams and doing community work.
4:07:31
I just wanted to talk about a few things that I heard today.
4:07:35
People seem to have questions about what deescalation is and what techniques are.
4:07:40
Doing de escalation is all about having it's like a skill, it's an art, and it's having a positive attitude.
4:07:48
You try to be an opening, accepting person, and you're calm, you're collected, you're chill, even And the most important skill is absolutely listening.
4:07:58
You just listen, listen, listen.
4:08:01
Once you get the person talking about what they're going through, the de escalation will will begin.
4:08:07
They'll start to feel more calm.
4:08:08
They'll talk about what their issues are, they're letting out their emotions, and that's how de escalation works.
4:08:14
As pure specialists, we try to provide hope.
4:08:18
That is difficult to explain into few minutes like how that works, but it's a real part of what we do.
4:08:25
Deescalation techniques.
4:08:26
You also follow your gut instinct, see where the person is, and follow their lead.
4:08:32
Just to be clear, motivational interviewing is not a deescalation technique.
4:08:38
And also, mental health crisis is incredibly massive and pervasive in America and especially here in New York City.
4:08:49
Charlie, I would like to volunteer to help you with data analysis, pro bono.
4:08:56
One of the things that peers do is we try to get people in different situations to talk about different things.
4:09:01
Last week, a co lunch with the participant of ours, and the conversation was incredible.
4:09:07
And, yeah, if you have any questions about my experiences, please let me know.
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Testimony by Jonathan Chung, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI NYC), on B-HEARD Program and Mental Health Crisis Response
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Testimony by Joelle Ballam-Schwan, Associate Director of Engagement and Communications at Supportive Housing Network of New York