NYC Council Votes to Expand School-Based Mental Health Support for Students as Next Part of Its Mental Health Roadmap

 

Council also voted to reform lobbying rules for top city government officials after leaving city service

The New York City Council voted to expand supports for youth mental health by increasing resources for school-based peer-to-peer programming. With youth mental health challenges on the rise, Speaker Adrienne Adams first outlined a focus on peer-based mental health solutions for youth in her 2024 State of the City address. The Council held a series of listening sessions with stakeholders to better understand the struggles of young New Yorkers and possible solutions. This legislative package is the product of Speaker Adams’ initial proposals and listening sessions with advocates, service providers and youth, which aim to provide students with tools and resources that support their well-being. They represent the fourth stop of the Council’s Mental Health Roadmap, a comprehensive and evolving plan to improve mental health outcomes for New Yorkers.

The Council also passed legislation to reform the current lobbying regulations of former city employees and public servants are allowed to lobby city government after they have left city service.

“Supporting our youth’s mental health is essential to their well-being and success, especially in school, where issues can intersect and intensify,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “We are following through on what I called for in my State of the City address last year by supporting our students to have the resources that empower them to manage their mental health. Programs like student wellness clubs and peer-to-peer support groups provide safe spaces for students to share challenges, build coping skills, and connect with others who can relate. I thank our colleagues for supporting this important legislation for our scholars.”

Expanding Youth Mental Health Supports

Introduction 986-A, sponsored by Council Member Rita Joseph, would require the City to develop a two-year pilot program to involve mental health professional candidates in student wellness clubs at public middle and high schools. These professional candidates, such as individuals studying to become licensed social workers, would facilitate student discussions and workshops on various mental health topics.

Introduction 989-A, sponsored by Council Member Linda Lee, would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to create student wellness club toolkits to help guide middle and high school students on how to create peer-led student wellness clubs. The bill would also require the Department of Education (DOE) to post guidance on its website on how to start a student club at school and make the student wellness club toolkits created by DOHMH available to all middle and high school students.

Introduction 996-A, sponsored by Council Member Althea Stevens, would require the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene to offer peer-based mental health literacy training to public middle and high school students. The DOE would have to distribute informational materials concerning the availability of this training to public middle and high schools each academic year.

Introduction 1103-A, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, would require the NYPD, within 48 hours of a determination that a violent or traumatic incident has occurred, to notify the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH) of such incident. A violent or traumatic incident is defined as any incident or series of incidents that can cause severe emotional and mental distress to the public. Upon receiving notice of a violent or traumatic incident, OCMH would be required to conduct outreach to local community members regarding the availability of mental health resources in the city, such as the 988 suicide and crisis hotline.

Increasing Accountability in City Services and Leadership

Introduction 77-A, sponsored by Council Member Lincoln Restler, would reform the current system under which former city employees and public servants are allowed to lobby city government after they have left city service. Under this bill, several former agency heads and employees of the Mayor’s Office, including the Chief of Staff to the Mayor, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor, Chief Counsel to the Mayor, Chief Advisor to the Mayor, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Communications Director, Press Secretary, and any public servant who directly reports to the mayor would be barred from lobbying any city agency for two years.

Introduction 587-A, sponsored by Council Member Eric Dinowitz, would require the 311-customer service center to conduct customer satisfaction surveys after each individual call and provide the customer with an option to ask for the service request or complaint to be reopened by the agency. 311 would be required to publish this information on its website every month.

Updating Waste Characterization Studies

Introduction 697-A, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, would require the Department of Sanitation to conduct two waste characterization studies, the first of which would examine the residential and institutional waste streams and be due by January 31, 2028. The second would examine available information on the commercial waste stream and be due by January 31, 2032.

Suspending Street Parking Rules for Losar

Introduction 100, sponsored by Council Member Julie Won, would suspend alternate side parking rules for the holiday Losar. Losar is the first day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar and is celebrated by an estimated 61,000 New Yorkers.

Designating January 31 as Cecili Gentili Day

Resolution 678, sponsored by Council Member Tiffany Caban, would designate January 31st annually as Cecili Gentili Day in the City of New York to recognize her significant contributions as an author, performer, policymaker, and activist, who fought for the rights of undocumented immigrants, sex workers, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Commemorating January 27 as Auschwitz Remembrance Day

Resolution 713, sponsored by Council Member Eric Dinowitz and Council Member Keith Powers, would recognize January 27, 2025, as the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp and commemorating January 27 annually as Auschwitz Remembrance Day in the City of New York to honor the memories of the over one million Jews and tens of thousands of others who died brutally there at the hands of Nazis during World War II.

Land Use:

Gleason Funeral Home Commercial Overlay – a private application to facilitate the construction of a new accessory parking lot, which will provide 22 additional off-street parking spaces for a funeral home in Council Member Vickie Paladino’s District.

Finance:

A Preconsidered Resolution, sponsored by Council Member Brannan, wouldapprove the new designation and changes in the designation of certain organizations to receive funding in the Expense Budget.