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Council Member Linda Lee introduces budget hearing for mental health services
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Council Member Linda Lee, chair of the committee on mental health disabilities and addictions, opens the budget hearing by welcoming attendees and outlining key points about the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's (DOHMH) fiscal year 2026 budget for mental health services. She highlights funding reductions, programs affected by budget cuts, and introduces topics to be discussed during the hearing.
- The FY2026 budget for mental health services is $713.6 million, with reductions in both federal and city funding compared to the previous year.
- Lee expresses concern over funding cuts to programs like NYC Well (988) and emphasizes the need for funding restoration.
- She mentions the opioid settlement funding and the need for clarity on its allocation.
Linda Lee
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Good morning, everyone.
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Good morning.
Lynn Schulman
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Oh, I
Linda Lee
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got a response.
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I love that.
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I'm council member Linda Lee, chair of committee on mental health disabilities and addictions, and I just wanna welcome all of you here, especially our new, acting commissioner.
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Thank you so much for you and your team for being here.
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DOHMH's fiscal twenty twenty six budget includes 713,600,000.0 for the city's mental health services which comprises of 60,300,000.0 for personnel and 653,400,000.0 for OTPS.
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Dropping the bucket in my opinion but yes.
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Funding for mental health was reduced by $51,200,000 in federal funding and $41,500,000 in city funding from last year's adopted budget.
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Between the fiscal twenty twenty three November plan and last year's adopted plan, multiple mental health programs lost funding due to the citywide program to eliminate the gaps.
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One of the several programs that lost part of its funding was New York City's Nine Eighty Eight, also known as New York City Well.
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NYC nine eighty eight serves as a mental health substance use and suicide prevention hotline that provides services twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and in 200 languages.
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NYC's Nine Eighty Eight's budget was also reduced by 33% in the twenty twenty three November plan as well as the other mental health programs that lost their funding must have their funding restored in the executive or adopted budget.
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At this hearing today I would also like to discuss DOHMH's budget for disabilities which services are the lowest funded area of the mental hygiene budget, even though it provides services to thousands of New Yorkers that rely on it.
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And I know a lot of our advocates are here in the room today for disabilities, so thank you all for being here.
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In addition, I will touch on the city's opioid settlement funding which has a budget of $48,000,000 citywide starting in FY twenty six.
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The Committee on Mental Health Disabilities and Addictions held a joint hearing with the Committee on Hospitals in January and while the hearing was very informative, we would still like additional clarity and transparency on how the funds are being spent.
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Among other issues, we will discuss topics such as the supportive housing program, coordination between DOHMH and other mental health offices, and the council funded clubhouses contract.
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I'd like to thank the finance staff, committee staff, and my own staff for their preparation of this hearing, and I would also like to thank, I know I said earlier, Doctor.
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Morse and her team for coming to testify on the budget.
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And now I will pass it Oh, yes, and I'd love to recognize our colleagues, Councilmembers Narcisse, as well as Councilmember Lewis.
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And, it is my pleasure now to introduce our public advocate, Jumaane Williams, will be testifying as well.