Categories: New York City
06.01.2023
On May 4th, Network Associate Director of Engagement and Communications Joelle Ballam-Schwan testified at a hearing of the New York City Council Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction Mental Health hearing regarding the Council’s Mental Health Roadmap. Joelle thanked the Council for putting forward a holistic Mental Health Roadmap that calls for targeted investments in the historically underfunded mental health infrastructure and addresses the workforce crisis. She then noted that missing from the roadmap was the 6.5% COLA for the human services sector and urged the council to only expand the City’s mental health pilot, B-HEARD, if significant changes are made to the program, Read the full testimony HERE.
On May 25th, Network Associate Director of Advocacy and Outreach Tierra Labrada submitted testimony to the New York City Council Finance Committee advocating for the Network’s policy and budget priorities, including re-imagining NYC 15/15 to reallocate scattered site supportive housing, improving the Justice Involved Supportive Housing Initiative, reversing proposed cuts to nonprofit providers’ Rikers Island programs, investing in Intensive Mobile Treatment Teams (IMT), and including 6.5% COLA for human service workers. Read the full testimony HERE.