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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ruth Lowenkron, Director of Disability Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
6:23:20
ยท
150 sec
Ruth Lowenkron, representing the Disability Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Correct Crisis Intervention Today in NYC, addresses mental health crisis response and forced commitments. She emphasizes the need for improved crisis intervention methods and criticizes the mayor's push for expanded mental health commitments.
- Advocates for improving the B-HEARD program, including adding peer support, 24/7 availability, and better response times
- Criticizes the mayor's plan to expand mental health commitments, arguing it's not an effective long-term solution
- Highlights the need for building comprehensive mental health support systems and social services
- Mentions reports on mental health issues in special education and racial disparities in forced outpatient treatment
Ruth Lowenkron
6:23:20
Thank you.
6:23:21
Go ahead.
6:23:21
Thank you.
6:23:23
Good afternoon.
6:23:24
Ruth Lowenkron, Disability Justice Program, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and also a proud member of Correct Crisis Intervention Today in New York City.
6:23:33
So I'm gonna say what they said, and I'm gonna say a few other things.
6:23:37
I think it's really important that we acknowledge today that yet another person has been killed at the hands of the police, not in New York while experiencing a mental health crisis, not in New York City, in Upstate New York.
6:23:52
But this is a constant thing, and we refuse, refuse to accept this.
6:23:59
There is a way forward.
6:24:01
Heard is a baby step in that direction, and I wanna make that clear.
6:24:04
Be heard has issues.
6:24:06
We have lots of ways to correct it.
6:24:08
The main, first and foremost, is to get peers on for the reasons my colleagues said.
6:24:13
It also must be open twenty four seven.
6:24:16
It's gotta improve its response time.
6:24:19
It's gotta have oversight by peers.
6:24:22
It needs fixing, but let's go in that direction.
6:24:25
And I'd also like to talk about what's getting all too much press, and that is and something folks haven't spoken about today, and that is the push of our mayor to expand mental health commitments, both inpatient and outpatient.
6:24:39
That is not the way.
6:24:40
Take a look at the literature.
6:24:42
That is not the way forward.
6:24:44
It's very clear that at best you'll get de escalation, but what do you do after the de escalation?
6:24:51
You have to build the system of mental health supports.
6:24:54
You have to build the system of social services, and you have to build the kind of mental health crisis response that my colleagues are talking about.
6:25:04
Now, not tomorrow.
6:25:06
4,500,000,000.0 is a drop in million, is a drop billion be nice.
6:25:12
Would be is a drop in the bucket, and at least let's make sure we have that.
6:25:17
I'd also like to say, earlier, there was a talk about New York City public schools, and I just wanna drop in there that my office has a report on the mental health of students being ignored in the special education context.
6:25:30
I will send that in with my, testimony as I will send in the report about the racist response for what is known as assistive outpatient treatment or forced outpatient commitment.
6:25:44
From the state's own numbers, you can tell it's a very racist response.
6:25:49
Thank you so much.