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Concerns about B-HEARD program expansion and mental health crisis response
1:45:03
ยท
3 min
Council Member Bottcher expresses strong concerns about the lack of expansion of the B-HEARD program to all precincts in New York City, particularly highlighting the absence of the program in his district. He emphasizes the need for proper mental health crisis response and urges for collaboration to expand the program.
- B-HEARD currently operates in 31 out of 78 precincts, with none in Council District 3
- Bottcher stresses the importance of having medical professionals respond to mental health crises instead of police officers
- He cites a recent incident with Wendy Williams as an example of the current system's shortcomings
- Bottcher calls for collaboration to expand B-HEARD throughout the city, especially in high-tourist areas
Linda Lee
1:45:03
So the
Erik D. Bottcher
1:45:03
main program in New York City in which medical professionals respond to nine eleven calls for mental health crises is Be Heard.
1:45:21
It's in 31 precincts currently out of 78.
1:45:28
None of those precincts are in City Council District 3, the West Side Of Manhattan, which includes Times Square, Garment District.
1:45:42
We need to expand this to all 78 precincts.
1:45:48
The mayor announced two years ago that that was the plan.
1:45:54
Hasn't happened.
1:45:56
And what I wanna know is why isn't the administration allocating that funding, requesting that that happen in next year's budget?
Michelle Morse
1:46:14
I do understand your concern, Councilmember Bacher.
1:46:17
I would refer you to Eva Wong who leads OCMH for further conversation.
Erik D. Bottcher
1:46:23
I think even though it might not be under your direct control, I think we all need to take some ownership over the effort to expand Be Heard citywide because we could do the right thing on all these other kind of outreach programs.
1:46:41
But if we still have beat cops responding to nine eleven calls, people aren't going to get the help that they need on our streets.
1:46:53
A couple weeks ago, Wendy Williams, who lives in Hudson Yards in my district, calls for help, mental health assistance, and, you know, we got beat cops showing up in in force.
1:47:13
No medical that I'm aware of, no mental health professionals on the scene.
1:47:19
That's a that's a policy failure in my view, and we have a program that's up and running in 31 precincts.
1:47:29
So I would like to even though it might not be under your direct control, I would like to follow-up with you and work with you and everyone in the Adams administration to get this expanded throughout the city, in Council District 3, which sees hundreds of millions of tourists a year and is is the face of New York City for nearly every person who comes around the world from around the world.
1:48:01
Their impression of New York comes from what they see in City Council District 3.
1:48:07
Looking forward to working with you on this.