Book Ends: First Mover. First Maker by Mark A. Rivera

A Column by Kurt Sass

Lots of Plot, Confusing Ending 

As a change of pace, I have been asked to review a short novel. This book has nothing to do with the topic of mental health, but was written by a mental health consumer.

I must preface this by stating that I do admire anyone who has the fortitude, grit and determination to put pen to paper and write an entire novel, as although I have written for many years, a 20-page short story has been my personal limit.

The story starts out innocently enough, where the main character Samantha, who believes she has by chance run into her former and long admired (as well as pined for) mentor, Saul. She answers his invitation to his apartment hopeful for a romantic rendezvous, only to be given a mystery in an envelope and a promise that all will be answered the next day.

Mark A. Rivera

But this is not to be, as what follows is a series of flashbacks, cross country trips and even more mysteries. Mr. Rivera does a very good job of keeping the reader interested while adding layer upon layer to the intrigue. Whether it be a sudden death, remarkable medical test results, crop circles, or time travel, we are continually kept on edge awaiting the outcome.

Unfortunately, as much as we are kept on edge, I was disappointed at the confusing ending. There was so much going on in such a short period of time, it was extremely difficult to follow. Samantha attempts to explain what has just transpired, but to quote the character of Jack on the last page: “I'm gonna pretend I understand you.” If the ending was laid out in more detail it would have lived up to the promise of the remainder of the book.

I myself can easily see how difficult novel-writing can be.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Rivera’s book is available on Amazon.com in paperback or digital for Kindle as well as BarnesandNoble.com, and Google Books. Any retailer can order a copy for the customer. If you are a mental health consumer, a family member or a mental health professional and have a book that you would like reviewed, please write to CityVoices1995@gmail.com with “Book Ends” in the subject.

Bruni in the City: Friends Until the End…or Until Next Tuesday?

A Column by Christina Bruni
Breaking Up with Buddies is Hard to Do Too

Caroline was a daisy in my life—like a springtime flower that brought joy. She suddenly disappeared after a few years in the early 2000s under mysterious circumstances. Yes—I let her go without trying to get her back.

Carny was the college buddy whose friendship I chronicled in my memoir, Left of the Dial. We drifted apart after I was shunted into “the system” and didn’t get back together after that.

Margot—the mental health buddy also of Left of the Dial fame is still in my life though from afar. She lives in year-round sunshine and sends me postcards from her kitchen table.

Y. was the true-blue friend I bonded with for a number of years until, through my own doing, the friendship came undone. It’s possible that I failed to call her back when she invited me to dinner for my birthday. How’s that for a friend? 

I tell you loyal readers: no matter what’s going on in your life, reach out to a person who reaches out to you. Make the effort instead of thinking of yourself. Don’t send them a cheery refrigerator magnet in the mail one year later and think that suffices.

My friendship with Y. ended in January 2007 because of my own actions. As if my antics before then weren’t enough, she, like all my friends from the taupe 1990s is gone.

My friend DJ is a forever-friend even though I haven’t seen him in years. He was my Best. Friend. Ever. Still is. He moved to Atlantic City.

My “five friends theory” goes like this: you can count on one hand the number of good friends most people have. I have three friends hovering in my life now.

We should all run far away from negative people who tend to bring us down. I call them energy vampires.

DJ and I once sat in a Vietnamese restaurant in Bay Ridge. He told me: “You and I see things differently. We think differently.” 
Break bread with people. I’m able to relate to people from different walks of life. I don’t care about age or race or income. In this way, a person’s status in society doesn’t matter to me. I’ve had friends of all stripes and I will continue to have friends of all stripes. You have to see beyond appearance and listen to people and understand them. We’re all human beings doing the best we can with what we’re given. On the inside, where it counts, a lot of us are hurting. See what you can do to lighten another person’s load.
Envy serves no purpose except to make you miserable and keep you stuck. Other people have been turned off when I tell them I’m a librarian and own a co-op. As soon as I say this, they refuse to meet me.

C’mon, it’s 2017. We should be honoring and embracing each other’s individuality. It matters only whether a person is kind and caring, not whether they have something that you don’t have. Focus on going after what you can do and be and have in your life.
Truly, I’m most happy hanging out with other creative people, whether it’s hosting a dinner party in my apartment or meeting others at a poetry reading.

My artist’s statement is written thus: I act as a Chief Joy Officer to create things of beauty to share with others to make them feel good.
The more you can spread good vibes, the better you’ll be able to attract great friends into your life. You deserve to have a life of meaning.

In the end, each of us has to be a good friend to ourselves even when other people aren’t kind to us. It comes down to having self-compassion so that we can have compassion for other people.
What matters most is that each of us has the grace of kindness to shower the people we meet with love. Love is all you need—it’s so true. And it’s what the world needs now more than ever.

We should love our friends and be happy they’re in our lives. For as long as our friends are here we should be grateful. We should let them go when they’re supposed to leave.

Beyond the Medical Model with Neesa

A Column by Neesa Sunar, Peer Specialist, Transitional Services for New York, Inc.

Advocating for Clients Can Require a Team Effort by Peer Workers
Many of us peers in New York City are incredibly passionate about what we do. We work at agencies where our consumers desperately need our services, giving voice to their concerns in the face of other less- or non-sympathetic psychiatric professionals. We act as a go-between, giving credibility and weight to our consumers’ needs and requests. We give their voices legitimacy, and we stand strong in the face of dissent.

Our sentiment for individual advocacy can take a natural turn towards systems advocacy as well. We as peers desire change in mainstream society regarding its awareness of mental illness. Understandably, opinions on how to achieve this differ from person to person. Some of us are of an anti-psychiatry and/or anti-medication sentiment, advocating for steps towards disavowing the traditional Medical Model altogether. Others among us take a pro-choice stance, where we figure that each person can self-determine their treatment plan and goals for wellness. Still others strive to strike a balance between the Medical Model and the Recovery Model, valuing the opinions of non-peer psychiatric professionals. There is of course overlap, and many of us embrace more than one perspective to varying degrees.

As advocates, we peers can come up against people who do not understand the scope of professional services that we provide. As we work with clients, remaining true to peer principles, our supervisors and coworkers may judge our techniques as something unprofessional. Even though principles such as mutuality and person-centered treatment are evidence-based practices, professionally corroborated by modalities such as Intentional Peer Support, we are still questioned. This resistance we run into only fuels our fire, compelling us to courageously continue staying true to our cause.

It still stands that many employers do not fully understand the roles of peers. Given that peer services are only now being integrated into service delivery programs in New York City, agencies are finding themselves hiring peers for the first time. Since peers are new, job descriptions and responsibilities are uncertain, and employers do not have the expertise or resources to provide sufficient supervision for peer staff development. It may not occur to supervisors that peers serve as agents of change, who purposely go against the grain of office culture to support consumers. On the contrary, supervisors may require peers to conform to the existing culture of the office.

This expectation can prove incredibly detrimental to peers, forcing them to compromise the integrity of their work in order to keep their jobs. Peers may be forced to use their mutuality to forge a trusting relationship with a consumer, and then use that trust to make the person comply with a top-down, Medical Model treatment plan. Or, if a peer communicates a consumer’s message to staff, that peer can be shut down and told that the person is not lucid, and therefore cannot determine goals for themself. At the very worst, a peer may find that the rest of the office does not have faith in a consumer’s capacity for recovery.

It is beneficial when a peer works with an employer that has hired multiple peer staff. Peers can support one another, and can band together to impart suggestions to employers on how their agencies can adopt a more recovery-oriented perspective. When peers work together, they can also assist one another in making sure that everyone remains true to the values and mission of the peer cause. Compare this to the peer who finds themself as the only peer at their office. It can be difficult for an isolated peer to remain motivated, especially in situations where a peer’s legitimate comment is the only voice against the unanimous voices of the rest of the office.        

Peers can find camaraderie by venturing outside of the workplace and into the community, and New York City has current initiatives that can aid in this process. There are committees with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, including the Office of Consumer Affair’s Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), a committee comprised of peers that reviews and offers feedback on upcoming city mental health initiatives. The DOHMH also has the Regional Planning Consortium (RPC)’s peer steering group, which also allows for peers to join and offer critique on upcoming initiatives. The CAB accepts board members by application, while the RPC has an open invitation for those interested to join at any time, provided that they are a Medicaid recipient of mental health and/or substance use services.

There is also the Peer Workforce Consortium, a committee of peers who are currently making strides towards creating a professional organization that represents the priorities and welfare of peer specialists, both working and aspiring. The Leadership Committee of this group meets monthly, and large “summits” commence quarterly. Topics covered in summits will include educational seminars, presentations and opportunities for networking.
There are also annual conferences that peers regularly attend. Within New York State, there is the NYC Peer Specialist Conference typically held in mid-July at the Kimmel Center in Manhattan, and also the NYAPRS state-wide conference, typically held in mid-September in Kerhonkson, NY. The former is free to attend, while the latter requires a registration fee in conjunction with hotel and travel, depending on where one lives. 

We must recognize that the values of peers are worth fighting for. One way for us to express the effectiveness of the Recovery Model is to live it ourselves. By reaching and striving towards recovery in our own lives, we can peacefully inspire the people around us, creating within them a sense of curiosity that compels them to wonder…how did they do it? How did they achieve the impossible?

But more importantly, living a life of recovery aids in inspiring the people we work with. We create a spark within people who have been beaten down and discarded, giving them a chance to ignite it. With such chance comes the opportunity for blossom and growth, enabling a person to move not only forward but upward.

The NYC Peer and Community Health Workforce Consortium

By Lori Tannenbaum, PhD, Director, Peer Workforce Consortium
Seeking to Support the Expansion of Peers in Programs Across NYC

The idea for the Peer and Community Health Workforce Consortium began May 2016 at the Mental Health Workforce Summit in New York City. A group of community health and peer workers, researchers, trainers, and representatives from managed care and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene met for the day and came up with a new initiative to improve mental health services in New York City by expanding the use of peers and community health workers to connect New Yorkers to services and promote recovery.

The Peer and Community Health Workforce Consortium is part of Thrive NYC, the $850 million plan to make sure New Yorkers get the mental health assistance they need. The Consortium will develop pipelines and career ladders for peer support and community health workers, including peer specialists, family- youth- and recovery-peer advocates. These workers provide support outside of a typical service hierarchy. We believe the Peer Workforce Consortium will impact service users and providers, as well as peers and community health workers because: 

The model works
Studies show that individuals with mental health problems benefit from having a team including peer support workers. People who use peer support better manage treatment, substance use and family problems in the community, and have fewer hospitalizations. Peers and community health workers can also help navigate health care systems, develop natural supports and lead a healthier lifestyle. 

The time is right
Changes to health care provision have come to New York City. People need more information and assistance to take advantage of the opportunities for individualized care that are now available. The Health and Recovery Plan (HARP) is a new type of insurance plan for some individuals with Medicaid who have a serious mental illness. If a person is in a HARP insurance plan, they may be able to receive Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) such as individualized vocational, educational or rehabilitation services. Medicaid redesign also aims to improve outcomes at reduced costs and with improved satisfaction with care. Through these initiatives, certified peers in mental health and substance abuse services can now provide Medicaid-funded services.

The field of peer services is growing in New York City. Many organizations are hiring peers to work in programs such as Assertive Community Treatment (ACT Teams) and Crisis Respite Centers which aim to reduce the need for inpatient hospital stays. There are more than 600 certified mental health peer specialists in New York City, and that number is growing. The On-Track programs use peers to help people with a new mental health diagnosis to get back “on-track” with tasks like work and education. Peers also staff warm-lines and crisis hotlines for people to get the support and referrals they need. 

It is sustainable
Peers and community health workers can be found in almost any kind of inpatient or outpatient program, whether it’s for family and youth, substance abuse or mental health. As someone from a service user’s neighborhood, community health workers are uniquely positioned to understand a person’s needs and concerns, while having knowledge to navigate a variety of services. 
The Consortium will share resources to enhance peer services for all New York City residents. They will meet with groups throughout the city to learn about the role of peers and community health workers, certification, workforce development issues and the integration of health, mental health, and substance abuse services. 

How you can get involved?
1) Use peer services.
If you use mental health, substance use, youth or family services and don’t yet work with a peer, please consider talking with a peer or other staff member to explore how working with a peer may benefit you. If there are no peer staff where you receive services, consider suggesting that program leadership add peer services to help create a stronger recovery focus and better health outcomes.
2) Train to become a peer
There is currently free training available through Thrive NYC for mental health peer specialists, recovery peer advocates and family peer advocates. 
More information about training to prepare to become a Certified Mental Health Peer Specialist can be accessed through Thrive at Work at: 
http://www.communityaccess.org/our-work/educationajobreadiness/thriveatwork

Learn about upcoming training dates for Certified Recovery Peer Advocacy training by emailing Lila Boyer at lboyer@health.nyc.gov or calling her at 347-396-4992.

The Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) helps to prepare for Family Peer Advocate work and can be accessed for free in October through www.ftnys.org or by calling Nancy Craig at Families Together NYS at 716-432-6238. The next PEP will be held 10/30/17-11/3/17 at the FRC Eastern Queens at St John’s Hospital, 148-45 Hillside Ave, Jamaica NY. Updated information and Registration can be obtained at http://www.ftnys.org/upcoming-pep-trainings/.

3) Peers and Community Health Workers--Please take our survey!
If you are currently working as a peer in health, mental health, substance use, youth or family services please take our survey by copying and pasting the following address into your Internet browser: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PCHWSurvey17
This survey will help identify where peer and community health resources can be found, and will help determine current wages, working conditions and satisfaction in these areas. Results are confidential and there is a small incentive to participate. 
4) Contact us
If you have anything you would like to add to the conversation around developing the peer workforce, please contact Consortium Director Lori Tannenbaum at ltannenbaum@health.nyc.gov or by calling 347-396-4995.

Ward Stories: Poetry

Organized by Dan Frey, Editor in Chief
Four poets are featured in this Winter 2018 edition of Ward Stories: Eva Tortora, Mary Divine, Richard A. Martinez Jr., and Louie Morano. One poem has an expression of love, another an eloquent and painful complaint, the others offer advice with a side dish of hope. Find what you need; take what you want and hopefully enjoy.

Love
By Eva Tortora
Love
surrounds my heart
from you
accepting me
and all my poems
and all my years
of battles, roses
sweat and tears
so on this day
thank you
and all my lessons
and all my poems,
love in my heart
from your acceptance
so I can write 1,000 more poems
and songs and words
blessing you

Living life with P.T.S.D.
By Mary Divine
How am I supposed to feel,
When the pain and nightmares become so real?

What am I supposed to say,
When all my hope has gone away?

When do I stop and get the choice,
To end the noise, quiet the voice?

Flashbacks, isolation and hypervigilance abound,
Peace and calmness cannot be found.

I often feel like the walking dead,
Stuck with the memories inside my head.

I sit alone quiet and don’t want to talk.
I think I would feel better if I go outside and walk.

This does not help, I feel as bad.
Am I going crazy? Am I going mad?

What can I do? I know this feeling is wrong.
I feel I’m always fighting, but help! I’m not that strong.

I wish I could go back in time,
To a place where my life was truly mine.

And be the person I used to be:
Normal, happy, smiling, free.

But no, this is not then, but now. 
I must devise a way somehow.

To halt bad thoughts, somehow someway,
To live my life from day to day.

A Season of Change
By Richard A. Martinez Jr.
Spending time
With family, with those who care
Living life
With people who share
I know when handling stress
From a heavy heart and burden
Can only tell why
Suddenly you can be certain
There is no way for me to tell
One thing from another
Just treat your sister like your sister
And your brother like your brother
Another day
Under what we stand for
Greatness can be made
Our hearts are our cure

Your Problems Will Disappear
By Louie Morano
You can make your life anything
you want it to be
simply by changing the
way you Think.

Instead of being sad you can feel great.
Go ahead and do it and give
yourself a break.

Turn a rotten day into a terrific one.
Good Times have just begun.

Listen to Norman Vincent Peale
and think positive.
It will be like crossing a bridge
from a world of sadness
to one of joy.

If life has you down and you feel annoyed
Think different thoughts that are a bit happier.
All your problems will disappear.

Freeze Your Rent through the Disability Rent Increase Exemption Program

By Lynette Morrow, Volunteer Attorney, Mobilization for Justice (formerly MFY Legal Services) 

One Way for The City to Try to Prevent Homelessness and Institutionalization

Rents in New York are high. It is one of the problems that many people with disabilities face in trying to stay in their communities. However, there is potential relief. The Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE, also known as the NYC Rent Freeze Program) program provides an exemption from future rent increases for some people with disabilities. People with disabilities who live in rent-controlled, rent-stabilized, Mitchell-Lama, or other eligible apartments are eligible for a DRIE if they meet certain eligibility requirements. 

In 1970, New York City (NYC) began the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program. The SCRIE program offers qualifying senior citizens an exemption from future rent increases. In 2005, NYC created the DRIE program to offer the same benefit for qualifying tenants with disabilities. NYC did this to help senior citizens and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes maintain their current apartments at an affordable rate and remain in the community. 

Who is Eligible for a DRIE?
To qualify for a DRIE, you have to be at least 18 years of old and meet four eligibility requirements. First, you must be named on the lease or the rent order or have been granted succession rights in a rent controlled, rent stabilized, or rent regulated hotel apartment, or in a Mitchell-Lama development. If you live in a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartment, an apartment that is partially or fully paid by a Section 8 voucher, or in a non-rent regulated apartment (such as apartments in private homes and private cooperative buildings that are not subject to rent regulation), you are not eligible. Additionally, if you live in a sublet apartment (even if the apartment is rent-regulated), you are not eligible. 

Second, you must receive either Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or a disability pension or compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. You can also qualify if you receive disability-related Medicaid. 

Third, you must have a combined household income that is $50,000 or less. The DRIE program uses taxable and non-taxable income to determine eligibility. Gifts and inheritances are not included as income. Federal, State and local taxes as well as Social Security taxes are allowed as deductions in calculating income for the program. Medical expenses, Medicare premiums and capital or business losses are not allowed as deductions in calculating income. If you don’t file taxes, you can submit any documentation you have showing how you and your household members receive income such as Social Security statements, pension statements, IRA/Annuity statements (including earning statements), IRS forms 1099 and/or W2. 

Fourth, you must spend more than one-third of your monthly household income on rent. 

How does the DRIE Program Work?
DRIE is a tax credit program. NYC provides landlords with a dollar-for-dollar property tax abatement credit (TAC) that makes up the difference between the amount of rent paid by the DRIE participant and the actual legal rental amount. The Department of Finance (DOF) authorizes the TAC and transfers the credit to the building owner’s property tax account. 

How do You Apply for a DRIE?
You can download the initial application packet from the NYC website at http://www1.nyc.gov/site/rentfreeze/tools/drie-forms.page. You can also obtain the packet at the NYC DOF SCRIE/DRIE Walk-In Center at 66 John Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10038. The packet is also available at the NYC DOF business centers (see here for locations: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/finance/about/contact-us-by-visit.page). 
For rent stabilized tenants, you will need to provide a copy of your prior and current leases signed by you and your landlord. If you live in rent controlled housing, you must provide a Notice of Maximum Collectible Rent and the owner’s report and Certification of Fuel Cost Adjustments for the prior and current year. If you are a Mitchell-Lama resident, you must provide a copy of the Housing Preservation and Development or Division of Housing and Community Renewal Commissioner’s Orders, Capital Assessment documents and Affidavit of Household Income for the prior year. Additionally, Mitchell-Lama residents must provide a rent printout or letter from the management office specifying the start date and the amount of the most recent rent increase. 

Once you apply for a DRIE, you will receive a letter within 45 days indicating the status of your application. If your application is approved, you will receive a letter from the DOF detailing the rate of your frozen rent and the monthly amount that the DOF will credit the landlord, as well as the beginning and end date of your benefits. The DOF may request more documentation to make a decision. If your application is denied, you will be notified as to why and you have the right to appeal. If it takes a few months to approve your application, you will receive retroactive benefits from the 1st of the month in the month after your application was received. 

You should automatically receive a renewal application from the DOF approximately 60 days before your benefits end. However, you are responsible for ensuring you renew your application. In order to renew, you must submit income documents for all household members for the prior year, as well as a copy of your renewal lease signed by you and the landlord. If you do not renew timely, your landlord will continue to receive credits through the grace period (six months). If your application is not renewed, you will be responsible for paying your landlord back for the difference between the frozen rent amount and the legal rent. 

DRIE is transferable to another apartment. If you are still eligible to receive a DRIE at your new apartment, the amount of your tax abatement credit amount will transfer with you. 

DRIE is a great benefit to those who qualify. Helping people stay in their homes is one of the most cost effective and humane ways to prevent homelessness. The DRIE program allows New Yorkers who have disabilities to avoid homelessness or institutionalization in the stability and dignity of their own homes. 

Note: If you have any questions or problems with your DRIE benefits, please contact Mobilization for Justice’s Mental Health Law Project. The intake line is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m.—5 p.m. The number is 212-417-3830. You can also email the Mental Health Law Project at mhlpinfo@mfjlegal.org. 

Is the NYPD the Best Response to New Yorkers in Crisis?

By Carla Rabinowitz, Advocacy Coordinator, Community Access, Project Coordinator, Communities for Crisis Intervention Teams in NYC (CCINYC)

Coalition Says the City Needs More Options

Recent police shootings of people in emotional distress have catalyzed our coalition of mental health advocates and organizations to further reform efforts. We testified about needed efforts at a recent City Council hearing, focusing on the need for alternatives to police responding to New Yorkers in crisis. On the day we testified, another NYC resident, Miguel Richards, was shot and killed by the NYPD. He was only 31 years old. Video of his shooting was recently released.

To create change, we need the Mayor to revive the defunct Taskforce on Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice. We need to bring all stakeholders together to build efforts to solve issues of community policing. And, we need the coordination of the Mayor’s office to find non-police alternatives to 911 calls of people in emotional distress.

We are planning a press conference for Wednesday, October 18, at the steps of City Hall in Manhattan at Noon. Everyone is invited to join us as we bring these pressing needs to the media to better inform elected officials.

My Testimony at the City Council Hearing on the NYPD Response to Mental Health Crises
“Thank you to the members of the Council for hearing this testimony today. My name is Carla Rabinowitz. I am the Advocacy Coordinator at Community Access and the Project Coordinator of CCINYC, a coalition of 75 organizations and stakeholders whose mission is to improve relations between the NYPD and the mental health community by advocating for a fully responsive Crisis Intervention Team approach and diverting mental health recipients away from the criminal justice system.

“Community Access is a 44-year-old non-profit that helps people with mental health concerns through quality supportive housing and employment training.

“CCITNYC and Community Access request that you revive the Mayor’s Task Force on Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice. This Taskforce met twice in 2014 and has since been defunct.
“We ask that you recommend the Mayor assign this Taskforce to the oversight of a Deputy Mayor.

“We need all stakeholders and all city and state agencies at the table to suggest alternatives to police responding to these EDP calls. Expanding co-response teams throughout the city, more mobile crisis teams, and pairing mental health peers with police to calm down these encounters are a few ideas to explore.

“Some of the contributions of the Taskforce have already been taken up by the city, including the implementation of CIT training for some members of the NYPD.

“The NYPD training is going well, though there is still a significant need for adequate training.

We ask that at least 15,000 officers be trained, especially since Rikers is closing and there will be more of these encounters. Countless people have been saved by CIT officers. CIT officers saved a child threatening his mom with a knife, and stopped many potential suicides.

“But CIT training alone is not going to prevent these recurring deaths.

“Since the NYPD started CIT training, at least 6 mental health recipients have died in police encounters:

“Mario Ocasio, age 51, in June 2015; Rashan Lloyd , age 25, in June 2016; Deborah Danner, age 66, in October 2016; Ariel Galarza, age 49, in November 2016; Dwayne Jeune, age 32, in July 2017; and Andy Sookdeo, age 29, in August 2017.

“We need to solve issues before mental health recipients get into crisis, and for that we need funding of community services.

“We need alternatives to hospitals, which recipients fear, like Respite care, where people in crisis can learn to recover and get connected to long-term support.

“We need to support the police by building diversion centers to provide a rapid handoff of New Yorkers in acute crisis from police custody to get immediate care and long-term connections to community resources.

“We need community forums with police and mental health recipients to reduce the fear in the mental health community when the police arrive.

“And most importantly, we need the Mayor to revive his 2014 Taskforce on Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice. And place this Taskforce under a Deputy Mayor, with the resources to get things done.

“We need all stakeholders and all city and state agencies at the table to suggest alternatives to police responding to these EDP calls. Expanding co-response teams throughout the city, more mobile crisis teams, and pairing mental health peers with police to calm down these encounters are a few ideas to explore.

“Therefore, we ask that you recommend the Mayor revive his 2014 Taskforce on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health.”