MAYOR DE BLASIO DEPLOYS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO CHINATOWN AREA TO AID COMMUNITY AND HOMELESS OUTREACH EFFORTS

 Mayor de Blasio announced today that the city is deploying additional resources to the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan to aid existing homeless outreach efforts, provide additional social services, and increase security measures. 

"What happened over the weekend shakes the conscience of who we are as New Yorkers," said Mayor de Blasio. “We are sending experts to the neighborhood to provide support during this difficult time, and will continue to assess how to prevent tragedies like this from happening in the future." 

"While our city mourns this horrible and senseless loss of life, I want to remind New Yorkers that the city has experts available to provide support for anyone facing mental health challenges. We’re committed to providing mental health services for all New Yorkers and our mental health outreach teams stand ready to provide support to this community and anyone seeking help," said First Lady Chirlane McCray.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of the surrounding community, the City will immediately dispatch mental health outreach teams through the Department of Health and Thrive to the designated area. Beginning Monday, mental health support teams will be on-site at community locations throughout the week to provide emotional support and connect people to mental health and other supportive social services. The NYPD has deployed additional officers to patrol the neighborhood.   

The city will also increase frequency of outreach in the area, with HOME-STAT teams proactively engaging homeless New Yorkers, offer services and assistance, and work to gain their trust with the goal of addressing the underlying issues that may have caused or contributed to their street homelessness in order to ultimately, help these individuals transition off the streets. To aid this effort, all street homeless outreach teams have access to:

·         Licensed clinicians who work with clients on the streets, provide on-going case management, and assess each individual for immediate risk/crisis during each encounter

·         Psychiatrists who perform psychiatric evaluations on the streets, as needed, helping understand and how better to meet the individual needs of each street homeless New Yorker

·         Substance use resources, including ability to immediately connect individuals to detox and other rehabilitation programs—and are trained in naloxone administration

At shelters in the community, staff are reminding clients of the availability of mental health support through NYCWELL and will connect clients who may want or need additional services, including mental health services, with qualified professionals and care in the community. DHS will also ensure shelter staff citywide are informing clients of resources available through NYCWell and how to access them.

To remain responsive to the needs of Chinatown residents and community members, the city will continue to meet with local officials and stakeholders and provide updates on the results of these initiatives.