NYU Lutheran experts applaud mayor’s mental health stance
Mayor Bill de Blasio is on target when he speaks about the city’s need to expand mental health services according to officials at Brooklyn’s NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers, who said that the mental health of children and families demands more attention from city government.
“We strongly support Mayor de Blasio’s plan to build a more effective and inclusive mental health system because we know that often the people who could most benefit from mental health services, such as homeless youth and survivors of domestic violence, are the least likely to access those services,” said Larry K. McReynolds, president of the NYU Lutheran Family Health Centers.
NYU Lutheran operates a network of 28 school-based health centers throughout Brooklyn. Fourteen of the centers provide mental health services. All of the centers are affiliated with NYU Lutheran, the hospital at 150 55th St. in Sunset Park.
Last week, de Blasio announced that his executive budget for fiscal year 2016 would contain $54.4 million for mental health services across the city. An additional $73.8 million will be proposed for the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. “For this year’s immediate efforts, we will have mental health clinics in our renewal schools and in our community schools. We are going to have substance abuse prevention specialist in all the renewal schools; mental health services in all of our family shelters; and, of course, mental health services added at Rikers Island,” de Blasio said in his announcement.