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Alliance Alert: The Alliance joined a group of advocates on the following press release in response to Governor Hochul’s 2025 State of the State address. While our group shares the Governor’s commitment to supporting vulnerable individuals, we strongly oppose the focus on increasing involuntary inpatient and outpatient treatment measures. These proposals fail to address the root causes of homelessness and mental health crises and are not effective long-term solutions.

True community safety and well-being stem from thriving communities where individuals have access to affordable housing and culturally competent, voluntary community mental health services. Increasing forced treatment only exacerbates systemic failures and does not provide the sustained support that people need to recover and succeed.

The group is urging state leaders to prioritize investments in community services such as supportive housing, Clubhouses, Peer Bridger programs, and voluntary crisis interventions. We also call for the implementation of incident review panels to identify and address gaps in the system when tragedies occur.

The Alliance for Rights and Recovery and its partners will work closely with legislative leaders to fight against harmful proposals and advocate for meaningful reforms that build a stronger, more effective mental health system for all ����������ers.

��DzԳٲ�����:�� Harvey Rosenthal
Alliance for Rights and Recovery
518-527-0564, harveyr@rightsandrecovery.org
Ruth Lowenkron
���������� Lawyers for the Public Interest
917-804-8209, rlowenkron@nylpi.org
Glenn Liebman
Mental Health Association in NYS
518-360-7916, gliebman@mhanys.org

Advocates Flatly Reject Governor’s Proposals to Expand Involuntary Mental Health Measures; Call on State Leaders to Invest in Treatment, Social Services, and Improved Coordination and Accountability

Albany, NY – January 17, 2025 — A broad and diverse array of advocates representing statewide mental health, disability justice, criminal reform, housing justice, and other civil rights organizations were joined by people with mental illnesses, substance use disorders and family members in rejecting  Governor Hochul’s call to increase involuntary hospitalizations of people with mental health and substance use diagnoses that was highlighted  in her annual State of the State address. They also sharply criticized the Governor’s push to expand other coercive measures such as forced outpatient commitment.

The advocates are fully aligned with the Governor in her condemnation of policies that abandon disabled and disconnected ����������ers with major mental illnesses and substance use disorders to languish on the streets. We have decades of experience in creating and providing innovative service models that voluntarily engage even the most distressed individuals, and we therefore call on the Governor and the Legislature to make major investments in these engaging, effective, and cost-effective approaches – a full list of which can be found below.

The State must also take responsibility for its most vulnerable citizens by ensuring stronger oversight and coordination of all service provision via Incident Review Panels,whichwere authorized in , but never implemented.  Tragic instances of serious harm to people with mental illnesses and to the general public must be promptly investigated, and corrective actions aimed at preventing future incidents must be immediately implemented.

The advocates highlighted three ���������� State-based models with decades of success in providing people with mental illness effective recovery support:

• a person you can trust: Peer Bridgers who are peers (individuals with lived mental health experience) who are trained to help individuals to successfully transition from hospitals and jails, and manage their recoveries into the community.  The advocates are grateful for the Governor’s inclusion of this critical program in her State of the State address. Family support complements these efforts by equipping loved ones with the tools and knowledge to provide ongoing care and understanding after hospitalization. Family support, as defined by organizations like NAMI-NYC, involves educating family members to understand mental illness, recognize signs of crisis, and navigate complex systems of care;
• a place to live: “low barrier” programsthat accept individuals regardless of their involvement in treatment or sobriety programs; and
• a place to go: statewide accredited  where community is therapy, trust is built, and people living with serious mental illness receive the robust support they need to thrive. Again, the advocates appreciate the Governor’s inclusion of these programs in this year’s Executive Budget.

The advocates greatly appreciated the Governor’s proposal to establish additional that are peer-led and have been successfully engaging people who have been reluctant to participate in mental health services.

The advocates also prioritized a desperately needed 7.8% rate hike for overwhelmed community providers to support current and future service models by ensuring agencies can meet rising costs of providing services while increasing staff compensation.

The advocates’ views and recommendations were recently echoed in an opinion piece written by .

Increasing involuntary hospital admissions will not only fail to provide the desired improvement for people with disabilities or eliminate public safety fears, but it simply will not work, as overburdened hospitals will not be able to manage significant increases in involuntary admissions. An estimated 600 psychiatric hospital beds that were lost during the COVID pandemic are still offline, and as  recently reported, hospitals are having difficulty reopening these beds, due to problems recruiting, hiring, and paying for additional staff, and the costs of new beds and equipment.

“We have long known how to voluntarily engage people who struggle to maintain involvement in core services that successfully help them get off the streets and into housing and stable, safe, and well-supported lives in recovery,” said Harvey Rosenthal, CEO of the Alliance for Rights and Recovery (formerly ����������). “This year’s budget must commit to a further expansion in proven and nationally acclaimed voluntary service models that can be quickly brought to scale to address the most daunting mental health crisis of our time,” Rosenthal added.

“The disability community strongly opposes expanding coercive measures for individuals with mental health and substance use diagnoses, as set forth by the Governor and the proposed Supportive Intervention Act and the Harness Expertise of Licensed Professionals (H.E.L.P) Act,” said Ruth Lowenkron, Director of the Disability Justice Program at ���������� Lawyers for the Public Interest. “Despite false claims by some in the media and government, our organizations in no way support leaving vulnerable individuals in unacceptable states of distress and deterioration on the streets and in the subways, and we call for true solutions with solid records of success.”

“We cannot adequately implement the Governor’s landmark investments, or the ones we are proposing today, without a major cost of living increase that would allow us to keep agencies in business and sufficient staff workers on the street,” said Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association in ���������� State.

“Increasing the use of involuntary hospitalizations and coercive treatment orders by lowering commitment standards and giving more professionals the power to forcibly confine people with mental illnesses will not ultimately relieve their suffering nor make communities safer,” said Beth Haroules, Director of Disability Justice Litigation at the ���������� Civil Liberties Union.

“Recent tragedies involving homeless people experiencing mental health crises highlight the failures of our broken and insufficient mental health systems and a lack of affordable housing. Thousands of ����������ers have no access to the community-based services they need, even when they are begging for them. If ���������� State is serious about preventing future tragedies, then it must invest in the services to meet the existing demand. Focusing on involuntary hospitalization and treatment are a distraction from the actual need for voluntary community-based care, low-barrier shelters, and permanent, supportive housing,” said Alison Wilkey, Director of Government Affairs and Strategic Campaigns at the Coalition for the Homeless.

“The Governor’s proposal to expand involuntary commitments is deeply misguided and fails to address the root causes of why people often experience mental health crises on the street and subways,” said Tina Luongo, Chief Attorney of The Legal Aid Society Criminal Practice. “We urge the Governor to focus on proven strategies for keeping people and their communities safe. This involves a serious and sustained investment in low-barrier, stable housing and voluntary mental health services, including models like Assertive Community Treatment, which meet people where they are and offer direct support in the community, 24/7. Solutions like Daniel’s Law and the Treatment Not Jail Act provide commonsense, compassionate approaches that prioritize care and treatment over incarceration and isolation.”

Matt Kudish, Executive Director of the family-focused National Alliance on Mental Illness of ���������� City pointed to the calamity that befell, who was choked to death in a NYC subway car after unsuccessful involvements with several NYC mental health providers.  “What Jordan Neely needed was someone consistently in his corner — one person who would have followed Mr. Neely throughout his involvement with hospitals, jails, and shelters.”

“The path to safer communities requires broad community-based investments and systemic accountability,” said Blaise Sackett executive director of the Hudson Valley Clubhouse in Poughkeepsie. “By prioritizing voluntary, evidence-based approaches, ���������� can foster a mental health system that supports individuals and strengthens community safety and success for all.

“����������ers do not have to choose between keeping communities safe and treating individuals with mental illness with care and compassion. How we achieve true public safety is through community-based investments, trauma informed alternatives, and legislation accountable to our most marginalized communities” said Kimberly Saltz, Legal Fellow for the Justice in Public Safety Project at the Legal Defense Fund. “Our state needs to invest in evidence-backed practices and programs that address the underlying problems to keep people off the streets.”

“We create true community safety by supporting those harmed by public systems and addressing the root causes of their challenges. It’s time to invest in solutions that work. ���������� needs more evidence-based alternatives to incarceration, forensic ACT teams, peer-led programs, and housing,” said Nadia Chait, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy, CASES.

“The Governor’s proposal will create a further crisis for the people already experiencing emotional crisis by encouraging law enforcement personnel to engage and even harass them under the guise of treatment. As a peer with lived experience, nothing in the plan will lead to de-escalation, and will only bring about a sense of fear and anxiety amongst people who are struggling to find housing and quality treatment. The Governor should recognize that our mental health system has been deprioritized and defunded, and she must focus on rebuilding it rather than criminalizing the people it has failed,” said Victor Herrera, member of Freedom Agenda.

“Increasing involuntary hospital admissions will not promote the mental health of ����������ers or make our communities safer. Without the capacity to house and support people upon release, hospitals are just part of a failing system that cycles people through temporary institutionalization and back into the streets, shelter, or unstable housing. Real solutions require investments in housing and community supportive services which truly lead to recovery and stability,” said Jennifer J. Parish, Director of Criminal Justice Advocacy at the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project.

Supporting Organizations (in formation)

Alliance for Rights and Recovery / /  / / /  / / / / /  / / /  / /  / / / / /  / / /

Recommended Voluntary Initiatives

That Successfully Engage At-Risk Individuals

1. Housing:Raise the rates of OMH’s Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) to $34k across the state and fund low-threshold stabilization facilities for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness that combine a drop-in center with on-site medical and behavioral health care, with private hotel rooms to provide transitional housing without preconditions. 
2. Clubhouses:Expand accredited Clubhouses statewide and other voluntary mental health support models. Clubhouses offer care coordination, employment support, and meaningful socialization.
3. Intensive and Sustained Engagement Teams (INSET):  Fund five additional teams to provide peer-led, person-centered care with a focus on regions that currently do not have access to these teams.
4. Peer Bridgers:Create Peer Bridger programs in six community hospitals to improve hospital transitions and community adjustment and success.
5. Daniel’s Law Health First Responder Teams:  Implement emergency response teams of peers and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to reduce unnecessary law enforcement interactions, in keeping with the recommendations of the Daniel’s Law Bill (S2398/A2210) and the State’s Daniel’s Law Task Force.
6. Voluntary Service Enhancements:Fund a package of voluntary services to each county for eligible individuals in recognition of the high need and use of the Enhanced Voluntary Service (EVS) program.
7. Family Support Program:Invest in and expand family support programs to empower families to help their loved ones experiencing mental health challenges.
8. Peer Safe Spaces for Teens
9. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Teams:Expand the number of ACT and FACT teams by adding fourteen teams to eliminate the lengthy waitlists statewide for such services for individuals leaving state prison.
10. Treatment Not Jail Legislation:Create statutory mental health treatment courts in every county in the state, expand access to these courts, and stop the revolving door of incarceration and release by creating an off-ramp from the court system with individually tailored treatment.
11. Alternatives to Incarceration Programs:Invest in Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) programs that address people’s mental health needs and stop the revolving-door cycle into the criminal legal system, including creating statewide access to ACT as an ATI.
12. Peer Crisis Respite Programs:Fund six new Peer Crisis Respite programs.
13. Crisis Stabilization Centers:  Fund four new Crisis Stabilization Centers.
14. Enhanced Mental Health Programming within Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Facilities:Ensure robust and equitable mental health programming across DOCCS through investments and passage of the Earned Time Act.
15. Workforce Development:Properly fund community agencies and their essential workforce by providing a 7.8% rate enhancement for mental health and substance use contracts.
16. Respite Beds and Respite Care Centers that are easy to access and open 24/7