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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sherry Chen, Health Policy Coordinator of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families
7:41:37
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Sherry Chen from the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) testified on the need for increased funding for various health initiatives, particularly focusing on the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. She urged the council to increase funding for Access Health NYC and support crucial public health investments from the people's budget.
- Requested an increase in funding for Access Health to $4.5 million in the FY2026 budget
- Advocated for $55.1 million out of $61 million for the Fund from Crisis to Care to expand mental health services
- Supported expanding safe havens with a $100 million annual allocation for housing unsheltered New Yorkers and supporting mental health and substance use housing
Sherry Chen
7:41:37
chair Schulman, and committee members for hosting this hearing.
7:41:40
My name is Cherry Chen, and I'm the health policy coordinator at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, or CACF.
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We're the nation's only pan Asian organization advocating for Asian American Pacific Islander children and families, and our coalition consists of over 90 members and partner organizations across the state.
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We also lead the Access Health NYC initiative, which is a community based organization driven program that tackles the AAPI community's barriers to healthcare access.
7:42:07
On behalf of CACF, I urge the council to include increasing funding for Access Health to 4,500,000.0 in the fiscal year twenty twenty six budget in order to better support community based organizations outreaching to harder to reach AAPI New Yorkers to ensure access the care that they need, and to fund the crucial public health pieces from the people's budget, the first being allocating 55,100,000.0 out of the 61,000,000 for the fund from Crisis to Care for the expansion of mental health services.
7:42:38
This includes expanding intensive mobile treatment teams at 22,000,000, and funding the mayor's office to end domestic and gender based violence at 6,300,000.0 to support micro grants and specialized support for survivors.
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I want to highlight that these services are crucial as individuals with mental health conditions are 16 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement officers.
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And in 2024 alone, police killed eight Asian Americans Islanders, and five of these individuals were in need of mental health support at the time of their deaths.
7:43:10
Secondly, we support expanding safe havens with a $100,000,000 annual allocation in order to open 4,000 beds over five years providing medically appropriate housing for unsheltered New Yorkers in a safe and supportive environment, and supporting a 166 bed mental health and substance use housing plot.
7:43:28
These crucial public health investments and the Access Health NYC initiative are essential for building a healthier, safer, and more compassionate New York City.
7:43:35
Because of this, I urge you to fully fund these priorities.
7:43:38
Thank you for your time and consideration.
7:43:39
Next.