PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Michael Nugent, Program Director of Baltic Street Wellness Solutions
5:20:17
·
163 sec
Michael Nugent, representing Baltic Street Wellness Solutions, provided testimony on mental health crisis response and peer-led services. He emphasized three main points: the issue of involuntary treatment, the importance of community-based services, and the need for peer-led responses to mental health crises.
- Criticized the high number of deaths and involuntary treatments resulting from 911 calls
- Highlighted the employment and education services provided by Baltic Street to support individuals with mental health diagnoses
- Advocated for increased involvement of peers in mental health crisis response, supporting a peer-led approach
Michael Nugent
5:20:17
Hi.
5:20:18
My name is Michael Nugent.
5:20:20
I work for both Extreme Wellness Solutions, which is the largest Pier Run Organization in New York State.
5:20:28
I wanna say 33 main points.
5:20:33
20 people dead in the past, you know, since 2015 is unacceptable, but there's the there's a a problem also of involuntary treatment, people being forced into involuntary treatment, the thing that people have alluded to in terms of hospitalizations that result from these calls to 911.
5:20:54
And I think if you're talking about de escalation, If you're talking about people having choice and being able to make informed decision, if you're able to do your work properly when a person is in crisis, then you're able to kind of de escalate, and there's not a need for hospitalization.
5:21:10
Right?
5:21:10
So I think the the the person from health and hospitals was talking about kind of like they need to do their assessments and this and that so they could determine the treatment, but the person may not want to go to treatment.
5:21:21
Right?
5:21:21
And and and and and and the thing shouldn't be treatment.
5:21:24
So we don't want the forced hospitalizations either, basically, which is what they are, forced forced treatment.
5:21:32
And that's one point.
5:21:33
The second point is my my program at Baltic Street, I'm the director of employment services and education services.
5:21:40
And those are the community based services that that we're talking about here that people need.
5:21:47
We want we want, you know, people who are in crisis to be referred to us and basically to deliver those services to people who need them who, you know, who we, you know, who we can use our peer experience to help get through college.
5:22:00
You know, the the the, you know, a number of the the number of people who actually don't finish college who are diagnosed with, you know, so called SMI is 80 I think it's 85% of them not mistaken, and that's too high.
5:22:15
And I you know what I'm saying?
5:22:16
That's something that peers can also be involved through supported education in in solving.
5:22:21
The last thing the last point is basically, we support as Baltic Street peer led response to mental health crisis.
5:22:36
We sit on, you know, members of our executive team sit in the off the mayor's office team that that that communicates about be heard and and and and sums it up how it's going.
5:22:47
But we we we do advocate for a peer led response and more peers involved, and and that's and we're and we're strong on that.
5:22:54
That's what we want.
5:22:55
And, yeah, those are the 3 main points.
5:22:58
So thank you for letting me speak.
