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Council Member Paladino introduces concerns about mental health and drug addiction
1:12:22
ยท
107 sec
Council Member Vickie Paladino opens the discussion by emphasizing the importance of addressing mental health and drug addiction issues in New York City. She expresses concern about the current approach to drug addiction treatment, comparing it to past methods and questioning the effectiveness of current strategies like injection sites.
- Paladino highlights the shift in treatment approaches over the years
- She questions the legalization and 'safer' methods of drug use
- The council member emphasizes the need to cure the problem rather than manage it
Vickie Paladino
1:12:22
Thank you, chair.
1:12:23
Mhmm.
1:12:23
I wanna thank you all for coming here.
Dr. Mitch Katz
1:12:27
This is
Vickie Paladino
1:12:27
a very, very important issue.
1:12:29
The mental health, drug addiction, and all of that.
1:12:32
Is my mic working or not?
1:12:34
Wait.
1:12:35
There we go.
1:12:36
I didn't press hard enough.
1:12:38
Okay.
1:12:38
I wanna go back to what we talked about earlier when I first came into this meeting and, the homeless situation, the drug addiction, and, you know, the day patients you brought up, how we used to have these centers some twenty and thirty years ago, where if you were a drug addict, you were able to go away for thirty days, get the proper care.
1:13:01
Then there was outpatient.
1:13:03
It was follow-up.
1:13:04
And there were also a great many, things like, the 12 step program and such.
1:13:13
I don't see any of that today.
1:13:15
And I know you did say how times have changed, but drug addiction has not changed.
1:13:21
If you're drug addicted, you were drug addicted forty years ago, you're and you're addicted to drugs today.
1:13:27
I worry about my kids.
1:13:28
I worry about the kids in this city.
1:13:31
When I see injection sites that are open, the accessibility to be able to get these substances now, whether you go to a vending machine so that you can inject safely.
1:13:44
I can't wrap my head around that.
1:13:46
So while we're very concerned about we're in crisis mode, you bet we're in crisis mode.
1:13:51
We're in crisis mode because we have allowed this all to become legalized in order to make it safer.
1:13:59
No.
1:13:59
We're supposed to try to cure the problem.
1:14:02
So now I wanna go I'm gonna stay on subject here.
1:14:06
How many homeless people are there in the City Of New York right now?