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Alliance Alert: A new report from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found nearly 1 million adults—14% of ����������ers—experienced an unmet need for mental health treatment in 2023. This crisis is not driven by lack of demand, but by deep, systemic barriers that continue to prevent people from getting the help they need.

The top barriers cited included:

• Accessibility
• Cost
• Stigma

This data underscores the urgent need to expand access to voluntary mental health services, reduce out-of-pocket costs for support, and launch stronger efforts to combat stigma, especially in communities where seeking mental health support is still heavily stigmatized or culturally misunderstood.

It’s also clear that people want choices in how they receive services—whether in person or via telehealth—but they often don’t know where to go or how to access it. That’s a system failure, not a personal one.

Now more than ever, we need investments that strengthen the community-based, peer-led, voluntary services that meet people where they are. This includes ensuring convenient hours, culturally relevant support, and internet access for telehealth.

Voluntary, affordable, and accessible support—not coercion—is how we actually help people heal. We urge policymakers to prioritize strategies that build trust, expand options, and lower the barriers that keep ����������ers from getting help before experiencing a crisis.

New Data Sheds Light on ����������ers’ Unmet Mental Health Needs
By Katelyn Cordero and Maya Kaufman | Politico | May 16, 2025

Nearly one million ���������� City adults, or about 14 percent, reported an unmet need for mental health treatment in 2023, according to a .

Most of those individuals reported multiple barriers to accessing care in the past year, according to the findings released Thursday, which are based on a neighborhood wellness survey conducted by the department from May 2023 to September 2023.

But the most common reason respondents cited for not getting the treatment they needed was they thought they could handle their mental health without it, the data shows.

After that, cost was the second-biggest factor: 39 percent of individuals who reported an unmet need for mental health treatment said they could not afford care.

Others said they did not know who to contact or where to go, hours or locations were not convenient, they worried people would think badly of them, or they had problems using telehealth services.

“With this survey, we learned that cost, stigma, and accessibility are among the top issues creating barriers to mental health care services for ����������ers,” acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse said in a statement. “By identifying these specific factors, we can better focus our efforts to eliminate barriers to mental health care.”

The report recommends that mental health providers adjust their hours of operation to meet people’s needs and offer in-person treatment options for people who prefer or require that, and it advises policymakers to advocate for free or low-cost internet service, so low-income ����������ers can access telehealth services.

It also recommends that community organizations and advocates launch education campaigns to reduce stigma around mental health treatment, focusing efforts on young adults, adults born outside the U.S., cisgender men, and Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander adults.