E Harlem Center Offers Jail Alternative For People In Crisis

EAST HARLEM, NY — A new facility in East Harlem will give police officers from the NYPD's 25th precinct an alternative jailing people suffering from mental health issues and substance abuse, city officials announced Wednesday.

The city Health Department and ThriveNYC are committing $10 million each year for the next 10 years to open a "Support and Connection Center" — previously known as a diversion center — at 179 E. 116th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, city officials said. The center, which will be operated by nonprofit Project Renewal, will open on Feb. 26.

"Support and Connection Centers create a stronger system of care for New Yorkers with behavioral health issues who might otherwise have cycled through police custody or emergency departments," Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said in a statement. "These health interventions have the potential to be transformative for the people they will serve."

The center will offer short-term housing, mental health services and other substance abuse and social services such as food, showers, laundry, case-management aid, counseling, withdrawal aid and access to life-saving drugs such as nalaxone, city officials said. Officers from the NYPD's 25th precinct will be instructed to take people to the center instead of jail or a hospital if they are suffering from a non-emergency mental health or substance abuse crisis.

The Department of Health and ThriveNYC consulted with police, activists and community leaders to develop the new program. A second center will open later this winter near the Bronx's Parkside Houses. Combined, both centers are expected to serve about 2,400 people each year.

In addition to opening the new centers, officers at the 25th and 47th police precincts have received crisis intervention training. The training courses taught police how to better identify the signs of mental health or substance abuse crisis.

The total cost to run both facilities will be about $100 million over 10 years, city officials said. The city is committing $8 million annually and the state is committing $2 million annually.

"These Centers provide a real pathway to ongoing treatment for people in need. They present a way for police officers to address problems without enforcement, putting another tool in their toolbox," Susan Herman, director ThriveNYC, said in a statement.