New York’s Staten Island — With a focus on pregnant women, young people on the run, and those with serious mental illness, New York City is investing in a historic way to fight homelessness across the five boroughs.
Following last week’s State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams revealed the specifics of the city’s new $650 million investment to address homelessness on the streets on Wednesday.
Once fully implemented, the five-year commitment will increase the New York City Department of Homeless Services’ (DHS) street programming budget to over $350 million in FY25 and $400 million, the biggest yearly allocation for homeless sheltering in the city’s history.
“We came into office saying the days of ignoring people in need on our streets and in our subways were over because the government has failed to care for and help unhoused New Yorkers for far too long, especially those with severe mental illness,” Adams said.
Under the city’s new Bridge to Home concept, NYC Health + Hospitals will offer patients with severe mental illness who are about to leave the hospital but have nowhere to go back to supportive, homelike settings.
Patients will receive their own rooms, three daily meals, and individualized, comprehensive behavioral health care on-site under the new model, which is anticipated to be fully operational by Fiscal Year 2027. This care will include medication management, individual and group therapy, substance use disorder treatment, and round-the-clock support.
After staying there for six to twelve months, patients will move into long-term supportive housing offered by NYC Health + Hospitals’ Housing for Health program.
Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, stated that our patients with the greatest needs should receive the best treatment possible. By combining social and recreational activities with the seclusion of their own room and psychiatric assistance from a complete care team, including peers, Bridge to Home will provide our patients with severe mental illness with a fresh start.
According to the government, the $650 million investment would also add 900 new Safe Haven beds, which help homeless people who are unable or unable to use the standard shelter system. This will increase the city’s total number of Safe Haven beds to about 4,900.
In addition, the funds will help establish 100 new Runaway and Homeless Youth Beds, increasing the city’s total number of beds devoted to youth homelessness to over 900.
In an effort to keep children out of the shelter system, the city will also start a new $30 million pilot program to link pregnant women who apply for city shelters with resources to assist them find permanent homes.
In addition to more than doubling our budget for street programs since taking office, this administration has made the biggest yearly commitment in addressing homelessness on the streets in the city’s history. In order to make New York City the greatest location to raise a family, Adams stated that we will keep taking the lead on this subject because it is the morally and empathetically correct thing to do.
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