Requires the development of mental illness training for providers of temporary housing

• Democratic3

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Julia Salazar says this is needed

Homelessness and housing insecurity continue to be significant issues in New York State, and were exacerbated by the lingering impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Research indicates that among the main reasons for homelessness among single adults are mental illness and substance abuse. According to the Office of the New York State Comp- troller, between 2018 and 2022, 26% of individuals who were diagnosed with a serious mental illness were not placed in a mental illness shel- ter:, and 49% who were diagnosed with substance or alcohol abuse issues were not placed in a substance abuse or mental health shelter.(1) These findings are deeply problematic, and a testament to the needs of this legislation to ensure adequate services are being provided to individ- uals that have a need for mental health services. An increase access to mental health services, including psychiatric consultations and preventative health care will lead to a reduction in hospitalizations, allow for emergency intervention through case manage- ment professionals, increase the possibility for obtaining needed psychiatric treatment which secures the safety of other shelter users, and will lead to an overall reduction in shelter re-entry population, reducing homeless figures. Those wide ranges of social and psychiatric services are only available to those who are placed in supportive permanent housing, which restricts the individual's ability to build long-term stable housing solutions. Because of this, this bill is crucial for establishing an intake process that will connect homeless individuals upon intake with appropriate services. This bill intends to standardize the training process for shelter intake professionals that will mediate the issue relating to inappropriate staff response or handling of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. It will also further instruct individuals on how to prop- erly identify the symptoms relating to psychiatric condition, which will greatly improve the client's ability to receive the needed treatment, reduce the longevity of shelter use, and more accurately vet those indi- viduals to connect there with proper services in a more efficient manner.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.