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Q&A
Coordination challenges between hospital, carceral, and shelter systems
3:17:15
ยท
97 sec
Council Member Restler and Commissioner Park discuss the coordination challenges between hospital, carceral, and shelter systems. Key points include:
- The creation of bridge to home beds by Dr. Katz is seen as a positive model
- Tens of thousands of people are discharged from health and hospitals every year without homes
- There are issues with individuals cycling between involuntary commitments and returning to the streets
- The need for better tools to address situations where individuals no longer meet hospitalization criteria but still require support
Lincoln Restler
3:17:15
I agree with you.
3:17:16
I think that the failure in coordination across the different systems that these individuals cycle through, our carceral system, our hospital system, and our shelter system is really disappointing.
3:17:32
And I'm pleased that Doctor.
3:17:34
Katz is creating these bridge to home beds, which I think is a positive model.
3:17:38
And a couple hundred beds is a good thing.
3:17:42
But I think that the broader point is that there are tens of thousands of discharges from health and hospitals every year of people who have no homes who are being sent back out on the street.
3:17:52
And I was doing a tour last week with BRC and appreciate their partnership and the the transit police and the MTA on a couple stations in my district where we have just a number of entrenched homeless individuals who've been living in the station for years.
3:18:09
And the police officers I'm speaking to the chief of transit and the captain and he says to me, my officers will be involved in an involuntary commitment.
3:18:21
We bring somebody into the hospital because they're a danger to themselves or or or to the people around them.
3:18:26
And twenty four, thirty six hours later, forty eight hours later, they're back in the station.
3:18:31
And it's hard to convince the officers to continue to engage those individuals or to help find constructive solutions when they're just cycling in and out.
3:18:39
So just to that, just on the hospital piece in particular, how are we strengthening those partnerships between the street outreach teams and our public hospital system to try and help fewer New Yorkers fall through those cracks?