MENTAL HEALTH FOR ALL: NEW YORK CITY LAUNCHES FIRST EVER COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE AND PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN TO CONNECT NEW YORKERS TO MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

 

Mental Health for All is a citywide effort to promote universal access to mental healthcare during COVID-19 recovery and beyond 

 Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray today unveiled a new comprehensive website and public education campaign to help New Yorkers navigate all the mental health resources available to them and find substance misuse support that meets their needs.  Mental Health for All builds on the City's longstanding commitment to expand access to mental healthcare for New Yorkers and ensure mental health remains a permanent priority for City government.    

“As we recover from COVID-19 and write the next chapter, we must support the health and well-being of every New Yorker,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This website and public education campaign will ensure that everyone knows where to turn for help when they need it most.”  

“Seven years ago, as we talked with New Yorkers throughout the boroughs, it was clear there was a HUGE need for more mental health and substance misuse services. The pandemic has augmented that need and made it glaringly evident how common and debilitating mental health challenges can be,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “More people are realizing that mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness and now, for the first time, New Yorkers will have a one-stop, online connection to all of the new and expanded mental health and substance misuse services available to them through the City.  

The website, MentalHealthforAll.nyc.gov, provides resources for any New Yorker, with any kind of mental health need and is a comprehensive hub with helplines and services that offer a range of free, direct support to meet the diverse needs. NYC Opportunity will manage the digital product, working with other City agencies to ensure it meets users’ needs and continues to evolve to support the City’s goal of connecting people to mental health care services. Ads will run in multiple languages on buses, bus shelters, subways across the City with a focus on neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by COVID-19.

“Last year, we were faced with multiple public health crises, including a mental health crisis as people grappled with the many impacts the pandemic’s uncertainty and isolation brought with it,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Melanie Hartzog. “This Mental Health for All resource page helps New Yorkers know where and how to reach out for services they might be in need of, potentially reducing one more stressor from their everyday lives. Thank you to all our City partners that helped develop this important tool.”  

As part of the announcement, Mayor de Blasio also released a new report on the comprehensive mental health support provided to every New Yorker – broken into five groups we are focused on as we recover from COVID-19: 

• Our students and young people. The past year has had a profound effect on our children who have been subject to isolation, different forms of learning, and loss in their families and communities.  
• Our communities of color. COVID-19 didn’t create inequities in mental health care – it revealed and exacerbated them. We will continue to bring additional resources to communities that have been underserved for decades.  
• New Yorkers who want or need help for substance misuse. The opioid crisis hasn’t gone away – and substance misuse has, for many, gotten worse during COVID-19.  
• New Yorkers with serious mental illness (SMI). The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult to stay connected to care. New initiatives help avert crises and provide long-term care that promotes real stability in people’s lives.  
• Every New Yorker who needs help. Everyone has been affected in some way by this past year, and our mission is to go into our communities to ensure every person has the support they need.  

"It's critical that we make City mental health services easy to find, and easy to understand. This website unites City agencies in their missions to provide the best possible services to New Yorkers," said NYC Health Department Executive Deputy Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham. "Through Mental Health for All, we remind New Yorkers that help is always available, and is often a phone call away." 

"From creating NYC Well to embedding new services directly into communities, New York City has brought more mental health support to more people, and in more ways, than ever before," said Susan Herman, director of the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health. "As New Yorkers continue to feel the mental health effects of COVID-19, Mental Health for All will make it even easier to find the right support, right when it's needed."  

“We applaud the creation of this valuable tool that helps eliminate some guessing from where and how to access mental health services in our City,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Office of Behavioral Health Charles Barron, MD. “As we continue to break down stigmas around mental health, our hope is that more and more people proactively seek the care they need. Resource pages like the Mental Health for All webpage makes this easier for all New Yorkers in need.” 

“Mental Health for All is an essential new digital tool to support New Yorkers with their mental health care needs during the pandemic and beyond,” said Matthew Klein, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. “We are proud to work with our colleagues in City government to help make it as easy as possible to find and access mental health resources – services that are so critical for New Yorkers to live to their fullest potential.”

 Nearly 1.6 million adult New Yorkers experience mental illness every year, and the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened and expanded mental health needs. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 9% of adult New Yorkers experienced symptoms of depression each year. At the height of the pandemic, 44% of adult New Yorkers reported symptoms of anxiety due to COVID-19, 36% reported symptoms of depression, and 35% of adults with children reported that the emotional or behavioral health of a child has been negatively affected. And even before pandemic, New Yorkers of color were at greater risk of mental health challenges yet received less mental health care than white New Yorkers – the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated these disparities.       

Under the de Blasio Administration, New York City has embraced the mission to provide universal support and access to care. The City has guaranteed health care to every New Yorker, which includes mental health support. Through the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, in partnership with more than a dozen City agencies and nearly 200 community organizations, we have closed critical gaps, brought resources to those most in need and given New Yorkers simple, direct ways to connect to care. The City has also expanded mental health support for public school students, with social-emotional learning in every school and universal screenings beginning this school year. Mental Health for All brings many of these resources together so those experiencing emotional and behavioral health challenges can easily find the support that's right for them.