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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Anita Kwok, Policy Analyst at United Neighborhood Houses on Mental Health Budget Priorities
4:53:02
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128 sec
Anita Kwok from United Neighborhood Houses testified on budget priorities for mental health programs, focusing on the Older Adults Mental Health Initiative and small clubhouses. She urged for full funding restoration and increases for these programs, emphasizing their importance in community-based mental health support.
- Requested $3.5 million restoration for the Older Adults Mental Health Initiative in FY 2026
- Urged increasing allocation for clubhouses to $3.25 million in FY 2026
- Advocated for a 3% increase to match the citywide human services COLA initiative
Anita Kwok
4:53:02
Hi.
4:53:03
Thank you council members Brandon and Schulman for convening today's budget hearing on mental health.
4:53:07
My name is Anita Kwok, a policy analyst representing United Neighborhood Houses, a policy and advocacy organization representing settlement houses in New York.
4:53:16
I'm submitting a full written testimony on our budget priorities, so I'm going to take this time to talk about two programs, one being the Older Adults Mental Health Initiative, which funds mental health services in community spaces where older adults already gather such as older adult centers, NORCs and food pantries.
4:53:30
It increases the capacity of CBOs serving older adults to identify mental health needs, provide immediate mental health interventions, and refer clients to further psychiatric treatment when necessary.
4:53:41
By placing mental health services in non clinical spaces, older adult mental health providers are able to improve access to mental health services in the community and providers can adapt their programs to meet the needs of the communities so that there is no stigma.
4:53:57
And given the vast success of this program, we urge the council to restore full funding to the older adults mental health initiative at 3,500,000.0 in FY twenty six.
4:54:07
The second is small clubhouses.
4:54:09
While no single model or program can fully support individuals with serious mental illness, community based clubhouses serve as a uniquely effective complement to critical therapeutic interventions.
4:54:21
By fostering social connection, skill building, and personal empowerment, clubhouses provide a structured yet flexible support system that reinforces clinical treatments.
4:54:30
These spaces are especially vital for individuals who would have found it challenging to engage in larger city funded clubhouses.
4:54:37
In FY '26 we urged the city to increase the allocation for clubhouses to 3,250,000.00 in order for small clubhouses to receive the necessary resources to operate for the entirety of FY '26 and baseline this important initiative.
4:54:52
Finally, to ensure these vital services can keep up with rising costs and provide high quality service, this year we also urge the council to provide at least a 3% increase to match the citywide human services COLA initiative, thus allowing providers to address increasing costs to provide these services to their communities.
4:55:09
Thank you for this opportunity.