PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Leah Faria, Director of Community Engagement at Women's Community Justice Association, on B-HEARD Program and Mental Health Crisis Response
5:05:47
·
5 min
Leah Faria, representing the Women's Community Justice Association, testified in support of CCIT-NYC and expressed concerns about the B-HEARD program's structure and outcomes. She emphasized the need for non-police responses to mental health crises and the inclusion of peer support specialists in crisis response teams.
- Criticized the reliance on NYPD in the B-HEARD program and called for police to be completely removed from non-violent mental health crisis calls
- Highlighted issues with B-HEARD's scope, including limited availability and low response rates
- Advocated for more transparency and regular reporting on B-HEARD data to inform best practices and investments in crisis response
Leah Faria
5:05:47
Okay.
5:05:48
Thank you, Shelly, council member, Kavan, and the rest of the council for giving us the opportunity You stated earlier, thank you to us.
5:05:57
Thank you to you.
5:05:59
My name is Leah Fabian, and I am the director of community engagement for the Women's Community Justice Association.
5:06:07
I'm here today to testify and support of CCIT, correction correct crisis intervention today, a coalition of events, advocacy groups, and other community organizations that consist of hundreds of community stakeholders working to transform how New York City responds to mental health crisis.
5:06:26
The Women's Community Justice Association advocates with and on behalf of women and gender expensive people, impacted by mass incarceration, and as such, has had a front row seat for the criminalization of mental health crisis.
5:06:42
Breakers Island is currently the largest mental health care provider in the state of New York.
5:06:47
And over 80% of the women and generally expensive people incarcerated there have a mental health concern, stark testament to the lack of appropriate response to New Yorkers in mental health crisis.
5:07:00
When law enforcement responds to a call about an individual in a mental health crisis, involvement of the legal and causeable assistance become far more likely often at the course of the care that person actually needs.
5:07:15
Far too many individuals have been killed by police officers while experiencing a mental health crisis in New York City.
5:07:23
After decades of advocacy by CCIT NYC and others, we appreciate New York's attempt New York City's attempt to shift crisis response through its behavioral health emergency assistance response division be heard poorly.
5:07:39
Responded to mental health calls with health health professionals instead of law enforcement is essential.
5:07:46
About a quarter of all fatal police shootings in the US involve someone experiencing mental health crisis.
5:07:53
However, we have significant concerns with the program's current structure and outcomes to date.
5:07:59
The current B.
5:08:00
H.
5:08:00
Structure is fundamentally forward floored and still very much relies on NYPD.
5:08:05
B.
5:08:05
H.
5:08:06
Teams are only dispatched to 911 rather than 988.
5:08:10
The new federal 3 digit number for mental health crisis calls.
5:08:14
911 does not accept requests for being her team response.
5:08:18
Other issues pertaining to scope of service include that the program is not citywide or 247, leaving far too many citizens with police as far as first responders to their mental health concerns.
5:08:31
We have seen time and time again, most recently, with the death of Wynn Rosario, that is entirely inappropriate to send police and response to mental health crisis calls.
5:08:41
And their presence only creates deadly escalation.
5:08:45
CCIT NYC calls for police to be completely removed and first responded to nonviolent mental health crisis calls and for peers.
5:08:54
People would live mental health experience to be a mandatory element of be her teams.
5:09:00
Response teams that include people with live experience will help achieve the be her pilot goals by shifting the model to a person centered approach rude and genuine connection and community communal well-being.
5:09:13
2 key goals of be her are to increase connection to community based care and decrease hospitalizations.
5:09:19
Yet just 6% of people who receive a be her response to a mental health crisis are transported to a community based health care or social service location, and nearly 60% are still transported to the hospital.
5:09:31
Pears have the skills and expertise to advocate for connection to community based care and avoid unwanted and unnecessary transport to hospitals.
5:09:40
Although BEHARD is geo geographically geographic bounds have expanded some since its inception, and it is responding to a higher volume of overall calls, The number of calls directed to be heard are not keeping up with the rate of the program's expansion.
5:09:56
The most recently available data shows that only about 1 in four people who place mental health crisis calls in a qualifying area get a be heard response.
5:10:05
In the interview with New York's New York 1.
5:10:08
The program openly stated that teams only respond to a mere 3 to 5 calls per day.
5:10:13
Finally, we need more transparency around be her program to inform best practices and investments in crisis response.
5:10:21
There has to be no new data report there has been no new data reported this fiscal year this fiscal year.
5:10:28
The city must commit to regular reporting, of course, in order to continue to make progress towards his goals.
5:10:34
To be her pilot work require a sustained investment in the budget, starting with fully restoring the be her program to eliminate the gap cuts in in the adopted budget.
5:10:44
We look forward to working with the chairs and members of these community committees to improve, be heard, and ensure that New Yorkers experiencing a mental health concern crisis received the response they deserve.
