West Village Invited To Join In West Side Mental Health CB Talk

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Residents of the West Village are invited to attend a West Side and Midtown consortium on short-term solutions to help a growing mental health crisis.

On Thursday, at 6:30 p.m., Community Boards 2, 4, and 5 will host an online discussion with experts about how to find and implement short timeline solutions to help people get the help they need.

The conversation is meant to not just inform the public, but will also pen a resolution for the participating community boards to pass along to their elected officials.

It's a continuation of a forum that Community Boards 4 and 5, which cover Midtown and the west side from Chelsea to Hell's Kitchen, held over a year ago about service gaps for people with chronic serious mental illness, especially for those sleeping on the streets.

That conversation helped educate attendees on some of those problems and gaps, said Maria Ortiz, a Community Board 4 member and social worker, like a lack of treatment capacity, housing solutions and coordination of services.

"Solutions can be acute or long term," Ortiz said, and Thursday's discussion will focus on practices that on-the-ground practitioners say have positive outcomes, like Intensive Mobile Treatment and Assertive Community Treatment.

Based on who their elected officials are, the resultant Community Board resolution will probably find many welcome arms in City Council.

Just last month, the two City Council members who represent most of the three Community Boards, Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher, pledged $200k for local homeless outreach in Times Square and nearby, some of which utilize strategies similar to IMT and ACT.

Speakers for Thursday's discussion are from organizations like the Institute for Community Living, CUCS Janian Medical Care and the Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services.

To sign up, click here to register.