Governor Hochul: “It's clear to me that our strategy's working, but these cases of homelessness and mental health gems are not confined to the five boroughs ... I'm announcing seven new Safe Option Support teams are going to be canvassing communities from Long Island all the way up to Upstate New York. So, Westchester, long Island, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Southern Tier all the way over to Western New York, my hometown.”
Hochul: “I'm proud to announce that of that $1 billion, we've already made 768 million of it available to create more housing for people with mental illness. That's just in the short time since I announced this ... Those places are transforming lives, and I'll conclude with this I'm proud of the progress we've made. There's no way I'll ever stand here in say our work is done, but now we know the path forward.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the statewide expansion of a program that has successfully rehoused hundreds of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in New York City, including many who struggle with severe mental illness, after successfully helping 330 long-term homeless New Yorkers get into stable housing. Administered by the Office of Mental Health, the Safe Options Support program has expanded to serve the Finger Lakes, Capital Region, Southern Tier, Hudson Valley, Erie County, Westchester County and Long Island to provide support and help find permanent housing for individuals experiencing homelessness on the streets. In addition, under the Governor’s leadership, state agencies proposed regulations to ensure follow-up care for individuals leaving emergency and inpatient psychiatric settings and to establish network adequacy standards to ensure shorter wait times for behavioral health services.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you. Wow, purple's in the house. That means that help is on the way. Our SOS teams are here. So, before I get started, I just want to tell you, I wanted to gather here today to showcase the extraordinary work that all of you are doing. And as the Governor of this state, I could not be prouder to know that you are not just out there doing your jobs, you are transforming lives. And that is going to be part of your life story and your legacy. To all of you who are part of our SOS teams, know that you have a lot of love and gratitude from your Governor.
Because for far too long, society has really turned a blind eye to the mental health crisis. You know, if you ignore, it'll go away, right? If you just pretend people are not out there, you just walk past them, you don't have to deal with the realities of life, but these are our fellow citizens. Sometimes life deals you a curveball. You might find yourself with mental health challenges, not sure how to cope, who you turn to, homelessness, poverty, addiction, and all of a sudden, you're in this spiral and you don't know how to get out.
Knowing this, when I took office as Governor two years ago, I said, “Enough is enough.” I said, “Let's rethink how we help those who are in most dire straits, those in the severe and unsafe conditions.” And I said, “And we'll start right here in the great City of New York.”
And I want to thank the people who've joined me here today. Dr. Ann Sullivan, you have been my partner on this journey. We have focused on mental health like no other administration history. And I want everyone here to give our Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health a huge round of applause. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Sullivan.
One of our clinicians is Erica Riley. You'll be hearing from Erica shortly, but I also want to make sure we give you a round of applause as well. And thank you for being on this journey to help people.
Someone you're going to hear from because he has a powerful story, is Alto Watts. We just had a conversation, and he represents so many faces of people who do not have the opportunity to have their lives turned around. But he's an example of what we can do when we're intentional, when we say these lives matter, we bring in professionals with huge hearts full of love and that's how we start making a difference.
And just in less than 24 hours after I gave my first State of the State address, I stood in the subway, went down to announce a new approach down at Fulton Street, and I said, “Let's do something different. Let's put $25 million out there for trained mental health professionals to be on our streets and subways.” We call them our Safe Option Support teams or conveniently, SOS teams. The first year was so successful, but I knew it takes time to build relationships, right? You don't just go up to someone and say, “Oh, I'm here to save your life. Follow me. You're going to be fine.” It doesn't – I mean, you're all nodding your heads. It doesn't work like that. And so many times people have tried this, and they gave up because, well, we only have this much money. We only have this bill, and we have to go on and on and not make the real difference that I was looking for.
The first year was so successful, I said, “We're going to add more money to it.” We added upwards of an increase to get us up to $33 million to keep the good work going. So, what are these teams doing? Why are they worth the investment? Just back in October, saw some of you, went down there again, and I gave everybody a big hug, as I often do, and said, “Thank you. Thank you. You're doing God's work here on earth and keep it up.” Because what they're bringing is deep clinical knowledge. But also, this innate compassion that you seldom encounter. You truly are unique individuals, and they look for people who are lost. People who are in pain, people may be a danger to themselves or others.
You know what? They treat them with respect. They give them dignity, they listen, they follow up, they develop a rapport, and many of these people have been unhoused for years. So, you build this wall around yourself. You don't want to have that wall come crumbling down. You don't want to expose your vulnerabilities because it hurts too much. And many just become resigned to living on the streets, wandering from here to there, maybe even giving up hope. And they distrust our institutions because they have failed them. They may have been in and out of foster care. They may have not had a stable home. It's just a lot of negativity.
And they don't see one of our SOS teams say, “Oh, the Calvary has arrived, the SOS teams are here. Let's go.” But when you make that intentional effort and connect with them as people, we can really make a difference. And that's what we did. And I'm really proud to announce that New York City's 14 of these teams have connected with more than 330 formerly chronically homeless people and have connected them with not just mental health services, but permanent housing. That's 330 people who had been given up on, who were relegated to the streets and subways, who had no other options except for our SOS options. And that is the difference we're making every single day out there.
And they're getting wraparound services. It's not just, “Oh, we've convinced you to go into a home and good luck. You know, we're all done with you onto the next one.” No, that's not how you change lives for the long term. You can't just let people on their own who've had to rely on the streets and themselves for a long time. You have to build support around that. And it's clear to me that our strategy's working, but these cases of homelessness and mental health gems are not confined to the five boroughs.
And that's why we're announcing that we're expanding this to other regions of the state. I'm announcing seven new Safe Option Support teams are going to be canvassing communities from Long Island all the way up to Upstate New York. So, Westchester, long Island, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Southern Tier all the way over to Western New York, my hometown. And we're going to continue adding more because I'll invest money in programs that work. And you have proven to me that this works. There's 330 people, who no longer have to sleep under the stars at night and hope they're not attacked or harmed. They have the dignity of the God-given right to have a roof over their heads.
So, we also have to make sure that the mental health system is working as well. And we have to focus on inpatient care. Now, we had a severe shortage after the pandemic. I've stood here many times and spoken about the fact that many beds that had been for psychiatric care were converted to COVID beds during the pandemic. Fine, but the pandemics been over for a while and many institutions and hospitals did not go back to having the services available. So, we ended up with a shortage at a time when more people are dealing with mental health challenges than ever before – all the way from our young kids to our seniors – challenges, and they need help. And the beds weren't there. So, that was a break in the chain right there. And we've made entire investments in the entire continuum of care.
Last year, we announced $50 million – $50 million more to add inpatient psychiatric beds. We're going to keep putting the money out there to make sure that these services are provided for and also, I want to make sure that we're continuing our psych hospitals – that they're continuing to bring beds back online. And if they don't do it, they say they can't do it. We're holding them accountable because I'm not taking no for an answer. You need to be aware that no, doesn't work very well with me. And so far because of our diligence and pushing forward, we have over 500 beds have come back online from our community hospitals.
We're also stepping up our efforts at our state-run facilities. I promised 150 beds last year would come back online. We are ahead of schedule. Already ahead, and now we're going to do another 200 more, including 75 beds for those who've had repeated run-ins with the law who need extra services for people in crisis who need to be on that road to recovery. But here's what happens, we convince people to come in. We finally have a bed available. They get the treatment, and then what happens after that? No one ever asked these questions before they thought our job was done. Except if they're discharged without a meaningful plan and follow-through, the odds are pretty good that this individual may fall through the cracks again. It takes time to turn around a lifetime of despair and be welcomed back into society. We’ve always lost people, and I said, “Now we're going to be requiring that there's discharge plans.” Right, Commissioner? We're proposing regulations. You've already released them. Today, you release proposed regulations for emergency rooms. What happens, what hospitals have to do now, what they're obligated to do is to have a discharge plan that is followed up upon, and that's so people don't keep cycling through the system.
Now, they can only be discharged after they've had adequate treatment and a plan for follow up care. That's the difference I'm talking about here. And so, for many, the next phase will be supportive housing – these wraparound services and make sure that these people have support. And since I announced our landmark, much talked about $1 billion investment in mental health. I'm proud to announce that of that $1 billion, we've already made 768 million of it available to create more housing for people with mental illness. That's just in the short time since I announced this.
As you know, I'm impatient. Right, Commissioner? I'm always having meetings saying, “Show me the numbers. What are we doing? How are we doing?” And so, we're making a real progress here, and I'm talking about places like VIP Community Services, a certified community behavioral health clinic in the Bronx I just visited a couple months ago. Those places are transforming lives, and I'll conclude with this I'm proud of the progress we've made. There's no way I'll ever stand here in say our work is done, but now we know the path forward. We know the strategies that work, and those are the strategies that I'll keep investing in as Governor with our state Legislature, with my Budget every single year that I am Governor, because there are too many people that are God's children who need our help and our love and a path forward. And one of the truest measures of society is how we treat the most vulnerable of our assistance. Not the most powerful, but the most vulnerable. And never again will we avert our eyes and say, that's not our problem. It's all of our problem. It's all of our problem. And with these investments, we'll never, ever turn away from anyone who needs our help. That is my commitment to you, and that is my commitment to everyone who is going through a tough time in life.
People like our friend, Alto Watts, who is joining us here today, he'll talk about what he went through, his experience with the SOS teams, how they made a difference, and I spoke to him about how he can be the voice for so many who didn't know it's available. They thought they're alone. They believe that they're the only ones being affected like this when they have mental health challenges, and yet there are millions across our own state. People who need extra help and his voice starting here today, but going forward, I believe, can help remove the stigma of people in search of help am in search of a healing path to full recovery. So today, Alto has new lease on life. Ladies and gentlemen let me bring up to the podium our next guest, Alto Watts.