April 25, 2023 (Reposted from NYAPRS ENews)

NYAPRS Note: Yesterday, the New York City Council released its Mental Health Roadmap promoting “a focus on increased prevention services, especially at the community level, addressing the mental health workforce shortage, confronting the harmful intersections between mental health and the criminal justice system, and increasing public awareness about available programs while improving interagency coordination to enhance the continuity of care”

We are very pleased to see that our friends at Correct Crisis Intervention Today, Community Access, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and National Alliance on Mental Illness–New York City have provided input to the plan. We are also very pleased to see proposed legislation requiring the Adams administration to submit data on the implementation of its controversial policy clarifying when and how to involuntarily remove mentally ill people from public spaces. NYAPRS is vigorously opposed to this policy and strongly support the requirement for public reporting and Council oversight.

As the Daily News reports, “locking down those expenditures will likely prove challenging. Indeed, Mayor Adams and the City Council have clashed in recent days over current budget negotiations, with the mayor contending the city has less money at its disposal than Council numbers crunchers have projected.” Asked how the Council is prepared to field pushback from the administration, the Speaker played coy Monday, saying simply that she isn’t “looking forward to push back.” “We’re going to deal with it,” she said. “We’re going to be as forceful as we are with, you know, with anything that is a vital and critical issue to all New Yorkers.”      

See the full plan at https://council.nyc.gov/mental-health-road-map/.  Here’s an article in Crain’s this morning, formatted by NYAPRS to emphasize certain provisions.

We’ll have more analysis in the coming days.

City Council Unveils Mental Health Roadmap Emphasizing Prevention, Workforce Growth (formatting by NYAPRS)

By Jacqueline Neber Crain’s Health Pulse   April 25, 2023

The City Council on Monday revealed its mental health roadmap, which emphasizes increasing funding around prevention services in an effort to help the city combat its growing mental health crisis.

The roadmap has four pillars:

1. prioritizing preventive and supportive services,
2. addressing the workforce shortage,
3. looking into mental health’s intersection with the criminal justice system and
4. bolstering interagency communication around mental health initiatives.

Each pillar has city, state and federal actions tied to it.

“This crisis has been shaped by years of neglect, stigma and inadequate public policy. For too long this city has not focused efforts where they are most needed to address mental health,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said at a press conference Tuesday. “The city has over-relied on emergency and crisis responses. This approach has been expensive, dehumanizing and, in too many cases, deadly.”

The council released this roadmap about seven weeks after Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the second phase of his own mental health plan, which focuses on how the city can expand services for New Yorkers with severe mental illness.

His second phase, revealed in March, follows a controversial first phase that garnered the criticism of community organizations and advocates. That first plan, announced in November, includes a directive emphasizing the authority of law enforcement officers, outreach workers and mental health professionals to involuntarily transport New Yorkers who seem to be unable to meet their basic needs to hospitals.

Back in November, Speaker Adams called on the mayor’s office to produce concrete details about his plan. By contrast, the council’s roadmap includes more than three dozen action items at the city, state and federal level.

PREVENTIVE and SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

To provide more preventive and supportive services, the council will consider legislation by Majority Leader Keith Powers that would expand the number of crisis respite centers by at least two per borough. There are currently four throughout the boroughs that provide a community-based alternative to hospitalization.

The council will also consider legislation to expand Clubhouse community centers, where New Yorkers can access resources, advocate for adequate funding for school-based mental health services, encourage City Hall to earmark $5 million for the Mental Health Continuum partnership and advocate for adequate funding for youth mental health programs. According to the roadmap, the council will also provide mental health first aid training for staff.

Meanwhile, the council said it will call on the state and Gov. Kathy Hochul to make sure 150 state-run psychiatric hospital beds come back into service–and increase the fines for hospitals that don’t comply to up to $2,000 per day.

The preventive pillar also focuses on housing as a way to mitigate mental health concerns. To that end, the roadmap says, the council will call on the Adams administration to

• revamp its 15/15 supportive housing plan, which in 2015 set out to develop 15,000 units of supportive housing in the next 15 years, and put an additional $45 million toward it.
• On the state side, Powers will put forward a resolution to have the state and the city reintroduce a NY/NY Supportive Housing Program to increase development and contracting.

WORKFORCE

A quarter of the roadmap focuses on strengthening and retaining the mental health workforce, which is currently in crisis, along with the hospital, nursing home and direct support professional workforces.

To address the crisis, the council will advocate for the fiscal 2024 city budget to

• include funding for nonprofit and community-based organizations, as well as to
• fund and establish a social work fellows program at one or more City University of New York schools.
• And the council will continue to advocate for pay parity for mental health workers.
• The council plans to call on the city and the state to increase Medicaid reimbursements for mental health services in order to expand access for families with middle incomes.

INTERSECTION WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE

At the press conference, Speaker Adams emphasized the city’s responsibility to ensure the criminal justice system is not a stand-in for mental health care. When about half of the people on Rikers Island have a mental health problem, “quite frankly, we have failed,” she said. According to the roadmap, Rikers is now counted as one of the three largest providers of psychiatric care in the U.S., and about 12% of New York’s prison population has a severe mental illness.

To address this, the council will consider legislation introduced by Council member Linda Lee, chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction, that would

• require the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health to report on implementation of the involuntary transport directive.

The council will also advocate for the city budget to

• include adequate funding for street outreach teams as well as the expansion of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s intensive mobile treatment teams and assertive community treatment teams.
• Furthermore, the council will push for the budget to include $12.8 million for 380 units of justice-involved supportive housing.

COMMUNICATION

To facilitate communication between city agencies, the council will consider legislation from Council member Eric Bottcher that would require the Adams administration to

• conduct outreach on mental health services provided by NYC Care and
• (approve) legislation from Lee that would create an outpatient mental health services location data set for New Yorkers.

To create the roadmap, the council worked with stakeholders from community organizations including Correct Crisis Intervention Today, Community Access, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and National Alliance on Mental Illness–New York City.

Matt Kudish, the executive director of NAMI-NYC, said he is encouraged by the roadmap and the collaboration that created it. “They were open to hearing our thoughts about things that needed to be either phrased or framed differently, or added entirely,” he said.

The council’s proposed legislation will be discussed at a May 4 hearing by the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction.

April 24, 2023 – A special note from  Audrey Erazo-Trivino

As the new Associate Commissioner for the Office of Prevention and Health Initiatives within the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, I am extremely proud of the work that the NYS Office of Mental Health engages in daily to bring awareness about ACEs and to combat its negative effects for all New Yorkers.  The Prevention office helps in this effort by advancing new mental health policy and programs emphasizing widespread prevention efforts with a foundational goal of promoting mental health equity.  This office supports initiatives that directly assist in mitigating the effects of trauma and as such, we are staunchly committed in championing the understanding of trauma, the use of trauma-informed principles, and most importantly the availability of trauma-informed care throughout the state.  Ultimately, these initiatives work towards the reduction of risk factors and the enhancement of protective factors for individuals, families, and communities.

ACEs Awareness Day, April 24, 2023

Social Media Toolkit

Advocates and legislators are gathering at the Capitol on Monday, April 24th to educate and raise awareness about prevention and mitigation of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and increasing Protective Factors, andPositive Childhood Experiences (PCEs).

We are pleased that the New York State Office of Mental Health has provided an award of $9.5 million over five years for the establishment of a Trauma-Informed Network and Resource Center to advance understanding of trauma, the use of trauma-informed principles, and the availability of trauma-informed care throughout the state in the Executive Budget proposal. The NYS Trauma-Informed Coalition and other partners are eager to see these provisions included in the final Enacted Budget.

Although ACEs Awareness Day partially highlights the impact and prevalence of childhood adversity, our focus remains on emphasizing the importance of preventing ACEs from ever occurring. The work of Prevent Child Abuse New York (PCANY) is centered in prevention and, in particular, in bolstering programs that address problems before they ever occur. This is referred to as “primary prevention.” 

Protective factors at any age highlight the power of connection, of moving from isolation to community, of building resilience through each proactive step. 

We thus encourage everyone to engage with at least one of the resources provided , to foster community, connection, and resilience in the people we serve and in ourselves as well.

Here are some tools that can help you do that:

April 18, 2023 – (Submitted by Howard Diamond)

Can we hear each other? Are we paying attention? What can we do differently to listen? Do we listen? Do we effectively listen? Do we want to know about listening and effective listening? Do we want to know the differences between each? Too many questions. Everyone, please calm down and they might be answered. Listen and stay tuned it is coming next in this article. 

Experts say, we hear everything, except those who are deaf, but what we listen to, can be the difference between night and day. Most of us pick and choose what we want to, sometimes based on several factors. We tend to listen within conversations that are more engaging or a dialogue of what we want. Other times, to people that are interesting or look marvelous. Also, we listen to individual things that our partner wants. Even then, there are occasions when our brain drifts into another thought. Before we know it, we drift from person to person, not really listening to anyone.

Often Certified Peer Specialists like myself use “Effective Listening” techniques when working with many of our peers. Not only is this a good technique for Peers, but for everyone because we all need to listen better. Listening is to give one’s attention to a sound. According to Maryville University, there are basically four types of listening techniques:

• DEEP LISTENING happens when we’re committed to understanding what the other person’s trying to say. This version helps to build trust and rapport and makes us feel comfortable with our thoughts and ideas.
• FULL LISTENING involves paying the closest attention to what the speaker is really conveying. Primarily this is used in a classroom, when someone is trying to teach us how to complete task(s) and when discussing work projects with our professors and supervisors.
• CRITICAL LISTENING incorporates systematic reasoning and careful thought to analyze a person’s talk and try to discern fact from opinion. This may occur when we have a personal agenda, such as political debates or a salesperson making a pitch.
• THERAPEUTIC LISTENING means giving our friends, colleagues or our family members time to discuss their issues. This involves applying many nonverbal cues like nodding and maintaining eye contact. Also, we need to understand what they are feeling about their experiences and their situations.  

Effective listening is an active way to listen, and something we need to learn and undertake for personal growth. Continuously, we must focus our attention on the person(s) speaking along with their message. Also, we need to let the speaker know we understand what is being talked about. Some of these ways include, sustaining eye contact, when we are able to ask follow-up questions or comments, be attentive and engaged in this moment and never, never interrupt who is speaking.

The difference between listening and effective listening is that we know what we are listening for; there are cues that guide the questions we will ask. Peer Specialists and others try to help someone figure out their self-identity at the present time, what the person thinks would improve their life, and what they think is standing in the way of any or all of these goals. Self-image, goals and barriers are simple things to listen for actively.  

Sometimes, it can be difficult to effectively listen.  Often to try to get our own point across we tend to interrupt the other individual. This happens with advice, judgment, criticisms or comparative stories of our own, or even feeling the need to one-up the person.  Effective listening means there may be moments of silence. At that instance, silence is okay.  

Remember, the Peer Specialist role is to guide their peer into listening to their own inner truth with open, honest questions. These questions go by the old rules of journalism: who, what, where, when, and how…but why is never involved. Asking why can make other people defensive. However, honest, truthful questions mean that one doesn’t already know the answer. The person may feel their intelligence insulted by such questions. Be very careful, our role as a Peer Specialist is always to listen and not make the situation worse.

The next time anyone has a conversation with a friend, try using these techniques. It can be difficult but we all improve with practice! As Peer Specialists we try not to fix, save, advise, judge, or set the person straight. Instead we listen and ask honest, non-judgmental questions.  It is interesting how much people really appreciate it. Are all of us listening?

See you in the NewsBlogs and Newsletters. 

Howard Diamond is a New York State Certified Peer Specialist from Long Island.

April 10, 2023 (Reposted from NYAPRS ENews)

‘Daniel’s Law’ Would Shift NY Response to Mental Crises away from Police

By Raga Justin | Times Union | April 10, 2023

The Legislature has included $10 million in proposed funding for a pilot program to shift away from police responses to mental health crises.

ALBANY — Daniel Prude was suffering a mental health crisis when he died during an encounter with the police in Rochester three years ago, spurring waves of protests in the upstate city and calls for statewide changes to law enforcement’s approach in similar situations.

Legislation that bears his name is seeking to do that. “Daniel’s Law” would empower mental health responders, rather than police officers, to respond to distress calls and approach people experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis. The law aims to reshape New York’s reliance on policing during emergency calls, a shift that comes in the wake of several highly publicized deaths alleged to involve police misconduct, including Prude’s.

State Sen. Samra Brouk, a Rochester Democrat who sponsored the bill in 2021, said that the legislation dovetails with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s own stated emphasis on mental health and public safety this year, which she said should help hasten its passage.

“This is really the moment,” Brouk said, pointing to Hochul’s proposed $1 billion investment in the state’s mental health system. “I think that the executive understands that what we’re doing isn’t working.”

Around $10 million in funding for a pilot program studying a statewide rollout of Daniel’s Law is part of the Senate’s budget, though a final spending plan is still unknown with budget negotiations ongoing in Albany. The pilot program would support community organizations and incentivize local governments to create more targeted response units for mental health crises; similar programs have been popping up in cities across the country, including New York City, over the past three years.

Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State Inc., said the state has a patchwork of similar services that vary county by county instead of a coordinated statewide system.

The crux of the issue, mental health advocates say, is looping in personnel who are trained to de-escalate situations without the use of force. Often, law enforcement officials who show up in uniform can unintentionally appear to pose a threat to someone who is in the midst of either a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

“In no other medical emergency do we expect people to communicate with someone with a gun,” Brouk said.

Brouk referenced the recent police shooting of a Bronx man who was experiencing a mental health crisis and was in possession of a knife when his father called a “311” nonemergency government services line for help with his son.

In Rochester, Prude, 41, had been visiting his brother’s family when he ran out of the house with few clothes on during a freezing night in March 2020. His brother Joe called 911, worried that Daniel — who struggled with suicidal thoughts and was thought to be in the middle of a psychotic episode — would hurt himself and told police as much.

Police who responded placed a “spit hood” over Daniel’s head and forcefully restrained him. He died one week later after suffering brain damage during the encounter. A medical examiner’s report ruled the death a homicide, partly from asphyxiation.

“I placed a phone call for my brother to get help, not for my brother to get lynched,” Joe Prude said during a press conference months after the incident.

The death kicked off local and statewide cries for less policing in similar situations, with Democratic legislators and advocates calling instead for a public health-based approach.

Retired Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox, who led the department for about two years beginning in 2015, has been a vocal supporter of the bill. At the start of his career in Albany, the city had a mobile crisis team in place to do almost exactly what Daniel’s Law would mandate, he said. But the program was subject to budget cuts and underfunding, Cox said.

Cox, who now works with a criminal justice reform organization called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, said that law enforcement has increasingly been tasked with responding to calls that aren’t in officers’ purview, including mental health and substance abuse emergencies.

“The simple fact of the matter is that it shouldn’t take a 911 call to solve a mental health issue,” Cox said. “And we need to have other people that are available to respond to that crisis.”

Police presence would still be likely in cases where a person in crisis could potentially have a weapon that would present a danger to themselves or others, Cox said. The law does not call for an across-the-board transition away from policing, he added, emphasizing that police and mental health responders would work collaboratively.

For example, if someone is threatening to take their own life but has a gun, Cox said both a police presence and people trained in mental health crises would need to respond, though the mental crisis responder might take the lead to de-escalate the situation.

Democrats, advocates push pilot for mental health emergency calls (timesunion.com)

(April 7, 2023) NYAPRS Note: The extended budget deadline allows for more time to push for changes to the behavioral health service system. Daniel’s Law represents a necessary and major shift in the way we respond to behavioral health emergencies, changing primary responders from police to healthcare experts and EMTs. We must pass the proposed Daniel’s Law Pilot with this year’s budget. You can join the push by emailing elected leaders to ask for their support here. See NY State Senator Samra Brouk and former Chief of The Albany Police Department Brendan Cox’s recent editorial on the need for non-police emergency response teams below.

Opinion: Mental Health Emergencies Deserve Compassion, Not Criminalization

By Samra Brouk and Brendan Cox | City & State New York | April 7, 2023

This year’s state budget must include funding for a pilot program that sends trained counselors, not armed police officers, to respond to mental health crises.

Heart attacks. Strokes. Seizures. Broken bones. These are all medical conditions that can constitute an emergency, and they are moments when an individual in need can expect to receive care from a person trained in addressing their condition, someone who can connect them to the necessary resources to continue care.

So why is it that those experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis are treated differently? Instead of receiving contact from a trained counselor or peer, these individuals are left to receive their care from armed law enforcement officers who receive far too little mental health training and often lack the resources necessary to address the needs of the person in crisis. This is a deadly combination, as those living with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be a victim of an officer-involved shooting, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center. Even law enforcement officers agree that they should not be the first line of response for these calls.

We can and should do better.

As budget negotiations continue in New York, we have an opportunity to make real change for those living with mental health conditions. We can fund the Daniel’s Law Pilot Program and Task Force, named for Daniel Prude, who lost his life in Rochester following a police response to his mental health crisis. This $10 million pilot program would allow the state to invest in new and existing programs already providing nonpolice, public health-based response, and its corresponding task force will solicit community feedback and make recommendations for a larger implementation. The state Senate included funding for Daniel’s Law in its proposed one-house budget, though both Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Assembly omitted it from their budget proposals.

The notion of nonpolice responders didn’t appear out of thin air. There are several successful community diversion programs across the country, which are proven to save lives, quicken response times, and even save money for municipalities. One of the most notable is the Cahoots program, which has operated out of Eugene, Oregon, for more than 30 years. According to the Vera Institute, Cahoots’ small operating budget of roughly $2 million results in municipal savings of over $14 million each year in ambulance trips and emergency room costs, plus an estimated $8.5 million in public safety costs.

On top of significant cost savings, these programs decrease the strain on our criminal justice system by connecting individuals in need of care with the treatment they need rather than an arrest. Further, by removing law enforcement from noncriminal calls, we can lower the likelihood of an escalation between the individual in crisis and the responder – several sources, like the Center for American Progress and the International Association of Chiefs of Police agree that the presence of an officer or even a police vehicle can create a lack of trust or even act as a trigger for someone who has had a previous negative experience with law enforcement.

The data is clear and professionals agree: first responders to mental health and substance use crises should be mental health providers or peers, not armed law enforcement officers. The Daniel’s Law Pilot Program and Task Force would make this a reality – and the governor and state Legislature have an obligation to fund this initiative in this year’s budget.

State Sen. Samra Brouk represents Rochester and is the chair of the Committee on Mental Health. Brendan Cox is the former chief of the Albany Police Department and director of policing strategies for the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Support Bureau

Opinion: Mental health emergencies deserve compassion, not criminalization – City & State New York (cityandstateny.com)

April 7, 2023 (Submitted by Katherine Ponte, JD, MBA, CPRP, Reprinted from the NAMI Blog)

When thinking about effective pathways to recovery, the mental health community must consider a largely untapped resource: Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs). People with mental illness who are employed as CPSs have proven to make a significant difference helping others in therapeutic settings.

CPSs (also referred to as peer specialists, peer navigators, peer providers, peer supporters or peer support workers) are “hired into designated peer positions or traditional mental health positions who must publicly self-identify as a peer and have been or are a service user themselves for their own mental health challenge.” Their role is based on a “system of giving and receiving help founded on key principles of respect, shared responsibility and mutual agreement of what is helpful.”

Essentially, CPSs can help peers manage their mental illness and other mental health challenges, like trauma, substance use or comorbid physical illness(es). This work supports recovery and helps with other recovery-oriented goals, such as education, employment, housing and social connectedness.

While there are more than 30,000 CPSs trained to do this work, the widespread implementation of peer support remains limited. This represents a significant issue in our health care system and a largely untapped part of the solution. Beyond the obvious benefits to those needing help from a peer, A CPS career can foster a sense of meaning and purpose for specialists, which is critical to their own recovery. For anyone who has mental illness and is looking for a meaningful career, it is a worthwhile option to consider.

(Read more on the NAMI Blog Site)

April 6, 2023 (Reprinted from NYAPRS ENews)

NYAPRS Note: We are very excited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center in Buffalo next Tuesday! The opening of the Center, which utilizes an innovative and collaborative approach to offer a range of mental health services provided by three different agencies all under one roof, is the culmination of work started by the late Kirsten Vincent and other mental health leaders in Western NY. See below for more information about the Center and what it took to make Kirsten’s dream a reality

‘Unprecedented Collaboration’: Could Innovative Model in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt Bolster Region’s Mental Health Services?

Jon Harris | The Buffalo News | Apr 6, 2023

Kirsten Vincent was an innovative leader who worked to eliminate gaps in the mental health system as the CEO of Recovery Options Made Easy, a peer-run agency in Western New York. Until her unexpected death nearly two years ago, Vincent had pushed for a first-of-its-kind model in New York designed to support crisis stabilization and continued recovery.

The model she envisioned included a number of services under one roof, seeking to ensure that everyone had access to the right level of care and that, as a result, fewer people would slip through the cracks of a system in desperate need of repair.

Her vision is nearly fulfilled.

The ribbon will be cut Tuesday at the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center at 111 Maple St. in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt. The renovated facility, formerly the St. John Baptist Hospice Buffalo House that had sat vacant for several years, will open its voluntary, recovery-focused services to the community April 17.

During a tour of the facility, Recovery Options CEO Shannon Higbee recalled Vincent as someone who had several degrees but, first and foremost, identified as a peer with lived experience.

“She would have loved that we got this to the finish line,” said Higbee, noting Vincent had been talking about this model since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

And the result of all that work, by Vincent and then by the leaders who came after her, is something unique in today’s health care scene: a facility comprised of separate providers all collaborating to bolster mental health services in Western New York. The aim is to get people the support they need in the appropriate setting and, in turn, avoid unnecessary trips to overcrowded and overwhelmed emergency departments.

Inside the center are four mental health support programs to meet people wherever they are in their recovery. The center includes two levels of Recovery Options’ peer-run respite services – a short-term crisis respite and an intensive crisis respite – as well as a renewal center associated with Western New York Independent Living and clinic services from Spectrum Health & Human Services.

“I’ve been in this work for about 45 years, and I would say this is probably the most collaborative we’ve truly been,” said Bob Cannata, Spectrum Health’s senior vice president of business development and community crisis services.

Mark O’Brien, commissioner of the Erie County’s Department of Mental Health, said the project represents an “unprecedented collaboration of three agencies under one roof” – a new model that has gained funding support and the attention of the state.

The center secured $1.9 million in funding to support capital development, startup costs and outfitting from a variety of sources, including the state Office of Mental Health; the Erie County Department of Mental Health; the Erie County Legislature; the John R. Oishei Foundation; the Patrick P. Lee Foundation; and the Peter and Elizabeth Tower Foundation.

A Pivotal Moment

To O’Brien and others, the center’s opening comes at a pivotal time, as mental health is getting more attention – and dollars – statewide and federally after the pandemic brought on an increased demand for services. The need may be even greater in Buffalo, which has persisted through one traumatic event after another over the last 11 months.

Increasingly, a system that for too long resembled a one-size-fits-all solution appears to be adapting. With new solutions coming online, that could alleviate some of the pressure and volume at Erie County Medical Center’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, a 24/7 service known as CPEP that serves as the largest safety-net mental health emergency department in the Buffalo Niagara region.

“We believe that 2023 will be a really important year for crisis response capabilities,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien said the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center will enhance the community-based crisis response with its range of services, which could help keep people out of CPEP or the hospital while also serving as a “discharge refuge.”

In addition, BestSelf Behavioral Health late this year hopes to open an intensive crisis stabilization center at its 430 Niagara St. location, which would give Western New Yorkers experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis another 24/7 option to receive care and support.

O’Brien said the county also has an ongoing ambulance diversion pilot program, a 911 call diversion program and is working with ECMC to reduce the demand and flow there so “that those folks who are making it to CPEP are really the people who need that level of care.”

What the Center Offers

The Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center will offer four levels of service, geared toward eliminating the need to transport people across the city in times of crisis and allowing individuals to move between the facility’s services as needed.

There is the Renewal Center, an existing program run by Mental Health Peer Connection, which is part of Western New York Independent Living. The Renewal Center, which is based on a living room model, is relocating from its current home at 327 Elm St. to the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center and will keep its 3 to 11 p.m. daily walk-in hours, though it is always looking for funding to expand its hours, said Kevin Smith, director of Mental Health Peer Connection. Smith said the Renewal Center has six staff members rotating in and out, including a program manager, two part-time registered nurses and three peer-support specialists.

Recovery Options will have two levels of respite at the center, allowing individuals – who are at least 18 years old – who need a space to regroup and recover to stay up to 28 days while still having the ability to leave to go to work, attend medical appointments or take care of other responsibilities.

The short-term crisis respite, called Refreshing Waters, is an existing model running in Erie County that is moving to the center. The short-term crisis respite has four beds and offers 24-hour peer support.

The intensive crisis respite, called Restful Rivers, will have eight beds and 24-hour peer support, as well. Further, the intensive crisis respite will have 24-hour nurse coverage as well as psychiatric support and additional components over the short-term crisis respite.

While all the programs at the center are aimed at diverting people away from avoidable hospital visits, the respite programs, in particular, also offer a “step down from inpatient stays,” meaning it could help unclog hospitals as people prepare to reenter the community independently, said Higbee, Recovery Options’ CEO.

“It allows us to create flow within the system, so that we open up inpatient beds for those that need it, hopefully a little more quickly, by allowing them a supported step down to the intensive and then even from the intensive to the short term, if that’s available and necessary,” she said.

Rounding out the model of the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center is a clinic from Spectrum Health, which has four offices in the new facility and will be able to serve community members as well as those who might be staying in the respite programs. Cannata, of Spectrum Health, said the provider will have up to five crisis counselors from Spectrum Health’s Buffalo H.O.P.E. Program who can provide free, anonymous and confidential emotional support. The provider also will be able connect people with other Spectrum Health services as needed.

“What they’re not going to hear is, ‘Oh, we don’t have anybody on site, so we can’t give you that,’ ” Cannata said. “We’re always going to be able to help people get what they need.” To start, Spectrum Health staff will be at the center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, hours that will be assessed depending on community need.

Between all the different providers on site, Higbee said the center will probably have 40 to 50 staff members total, eight to 12 of whom could be on site on any given shift.

Jennifer Levesque, director of clinical programs at Recovery Options, said the center having several levels of service is crucial, helping to meet a person wherever they are in their recovery when they take that difficult first step of seeking help and support.

“It is not a one-size-fits-all model – that’s really where you lose people to mental health,” she said. “We just want to make sure that people are getting what they need to be successful in their recovery.”

•••

A couple of upcoming events will raise funds for the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center. “The Concert for Jenn,” a sold-out show in honor of the late Jennifer Orr, who died in November after a long struggle with mental health and addiction, will be held Friday, April 21, at Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. in Buffalo, with all proceeds going to the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center. While the show is sold out, organizers have formed a GoFundMe, with donations also going to the new center.

By Luke Sikinyi and the NYAPRS Cultural Competence Committee (March 31, 2023)

Tenna Brooks, Assistance Director of Consumer Affairs at NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

As March and Women’s History Month come to an end, we’d like to highlight one more woman leader of color in mental health and peer movements. Today we are happy to highlight the Assistant Director of Consumer Affairs at New York City DOHMH and 2019 NYAPRS Public Policy Leadership Award, Teena Brooks! See below for information on Teena’s work and impact, as well as how to nominate other leaders of color throughout the year!

NYAPRS’ Cultural Competence Committee has been happy to share a wonderful project from the Wildflower Alliance highlighting often overlooked leaders within various mental health movements. The Black Movement History Leaders: Past & Present exhibit is both a way to publicly recognize these leaders’ great work as well as a call to develop and lift more emerging leaders of color. In the spirit of Women’s history month, we have used the month of March to highlight women of color who have been trailblazers in overlapping movements in our community. For more on the Black Movement History Leaders exhibit and how you can nominate leaders from your community, see below!

Black Movement History Leaders: Past & Present (wildfloweralliance.org)

There have been and continue to be many powerful Black leaders within this movement who too often are made less visible by a society that still finds it easier and more automatic to lift up white voices first. This exhibit is intended as only one of many small steps to counter that trend, and to help us avoid losing more stories from our history than have already been lost. We consider this not just an exhibit, but a call to action to lift up more black voices, to at least sometimes take a step back to make space for those who’ve had less access to these platforms, to share or pass along invitations to step forward, and to make intentional efforts to mentor and grow emerging Black voices, too. Sera Davidow, Executive Director for Wildflower Alliance tells more about her experience with this project in this Mad In American blog post 

Wildflower Alliance

by HOWARD DIAMOND  (March 31, 2023)

March, Lions and Lambs. Not quite the one third of the title of the song from the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz” named, “Lions, Tigers and Bears“. Oh My! This signifies the approaching of some of the characters entering a jungle and they are afraid of what they might find. Anxiety provoking. But there are many things that increase ourstress levels. Sometimes stress and anxiety can be positive and lead to a good and productive outcome.

Each word in our title can be a trigger of stress. Also, the a commonality that links them during the third month of the current Gregorian calendar. Generally, when someone like myself has had phobias, we are scared to March forward. In fact, the vast majority of us are fearful of walking out our front door. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that might cause panic, helplessness or embarrassment. Over time it often develops panic attacks and moments of intense fear. When one suffers with a form of Agoraphobia often we associate panic attacks with the places or situations where fear occurs and ultimately avoids this.

Humans fear lions for good reasons. The king of the jungle also fears us. Newer research indicates that these huge cats often do not like encountering humans and bumping into us on hiking trails. Common events show that lions from the sound of human beings. In addition, it was found that lions less frequently return to their kills after hearing human sounds and subsequently reducing their feeding. What these studies show are particularly valuable as human development encroached on the lion habitat. Originally recorded by The Tokens in 1961, “The Lion Sleep Tonight“, depicts this concept. Now tell me, who is more anxious, human beings or lions? No worries, the lion will not tell us.

Most lions flee from human beings, even those who are on foot. However, an attack is a possibility plus knowing how as people to react by defending oneself, while saving our lives. Walking safaris are still relatively a newer concept for lions, and they still perceive us humans on foot a major threat to lions’ overall safety, and their well-being. Furthermore, a lion gets extremely nervous in people’s presence. NO LION TAMING WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING. Our lives and lions lives are very dependent on this.

On the other hand, lamb are generally cautious. They will rarely attack humans, and preferring to keep a safe distance. Most of the time, when that fails lamb tend to run away, especially in the wild. Also, they often become very defensive when they are cornered/mistreated which could lead to an extremely bad time for all engaged.

Despite the placid, even timid appearance, an encounter with any wild lamb can be terrifying for both. This is particularly true for each party, whoever has never seen or witnessed first hand the other. While cute when roaming around in a field or open land, fully grown sheep  (adult lamb), most often have a menacing or terrifying edge to them. An example is lamb’s eyes having a demonic gaze. So when being stared down by a lamb can cause an unwary reaction and either side to panic. BEWARE THE ADULT SHEEP AND THEIR YOUNG LAMB. It might just save any sort of injury or even perhaps, death.

Together, the lion and the lamb are a formidable pair. Appearing in literature, as far back as, “The Bible”, the two are important to human existence. Nice place to start here? What does everyone think? Okay now. Let us use the characteristics from each forming a vivid contrast of expectations and applying them in a quirky and metaphorical fashion. While the lion is known for strength and ferocity, the a lamb is regarded as a gentle and dependable creature. 

Director and Actor, Robert Redford produced the 2007 film, “Lions For Lambs“. It’s meaning alludes to incompetent leaders sending brave soldiers into the slaughter of a battle. Also, the movie takes aim at the U.S. government’s persecution of the wars in the Middle East. Although the story has nothing to do with either lions or lambs, Redford’s work is superb on many levels.

March is in the title of classical music pieces for both lions and for lambs. Camille Saint-Saens in his composition, “The Carnival of the Animals’-Royal March of the Lions” depicted lion sounds. Originally recorded in 1886 for a Mardi Gras festival and celebration. Perhaps Saint-Saens best known work consisting of 14 pieces scored for flute/piccolo, clarinet, xylophone amongst other instruments. Playfully borrowing themes from others, (including his own), he composed portraits of a lion, chicken, turtles and a variety of different animals, including the immensely popular swan. Regal and proud, when one listens closely, one can hear the sounds of a lion’s roar in the running scales of the piano.

On the other hand, Lambs have their own march. Written in 1914 by the March king, John Philip Sousa penned, “The Lambs’ March“. One of Sousa’s lesser-known gems, this intriguing and intricate march pieces is continually performed around the world today. Its content needs to be heard, enjoyed and appreciated by people everywhere marches are played. The refreshing melody is both tuneful and infectious. While not as difficult as many marches, it maintains that wonderful plus unique Sousa quality.

A proverb written by Thomas Fuller in 1732 has withstood the test of time. As one reads here,  it contains all three of our characters in our title. “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb“. Meteorologists use this saying to describe weather events in March. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this weather folklore stems from ancestral beliefs in balance. When the weather in March starts as bad, (roaring, like a roaring lion), the month needs to end with good weather, (gentle, like a lamb).

Be creative. Find many different ways to write about, a lion or discuss a lamb or find solace in the month of March plus the other eleven months. Whatever we choose, be strong as a lion or meek as a lamb, march proudly ahead now and always. Attempt to be confident in pursuit of mental and physical happiness. Strive to be a good person in conjunction with March having admirable plus honest qualities and maybe our lives and our planet will be better, too. Don’t we think personkind deserves this? I do! I do.

See you in the NewsBlogs and Newsletters. 

Howard Diamond is a New York State Certified Peer from Long Island

By Luke Sikinyi and the NYAPRS Cultural Competence Committee (March 24, 2023)

LaVerne Miller, Former Director of Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy Center

As we continue to highlight women leaders of color in mental health and peer movements, we are happy to share our next leader featured in the Black Movement History Leaders exhibit: Former Director of the Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy Center and NYAPRS Cultural Competence Committee member, LaVerne Miller. See below for more information about LaVerne and her work, as well as how you can see more from the exhibit and nominate leaders in from your community!

This series is in response to a wonderful project from the Wildflower Alliance highlighting often overlooked leaders within various mental health movements. The Black Movement History Leaders: Past & Present exhibit is both a way to publicly recognize these leaders’ great work as well as a call to develop and lift more emerging leaders of color. In the spirit of Women’s history month, we are using the month of March to highlight women of color who have been trailblazers in overlapping movements. For more on the Black Movement History Leaders exhibit and how you can nominate leaders from your community, see below!

Black Movement History Leaders: Past & Present (wildfloweralliance.org)

There have been and continue to be many powerful Black leaders within this movement who too often are made less visible by a society that still finds it easier and more automatic to lift up white voices first. This exhibit is intended as only one of many small steps to counter that trend, and to help us avoid losing more stories from our history than have already been lost. We consider this not just an exhibit, but a call to action to lift up more black voices, to at least sometimes take a step back to make space for those who’ve had less access to these platforms, to share or pass along invitations to step forward, and to make intentional efforts to mentor and grow emerging Black voices, too. Sera Davidow, Executive Director for Wildflower Alliance tells more about her experience with this project in this Mad In American blog post 

Wildflower Alliance

by Howard Diamond (March 17, 2023)

Set to the music of “Jean” by Rod Mckuen and sung by Oliver 1969

Green, green the grass is so green
All the tree leaves have turned green
And the clouds are so low
We can touch them, and so
Come to the park, see it,  green.

Green, green is burstin’ alive
Come out of our daytime dream
Now run to the top of the hill
Open our minds, to color green.

Til the cow in the farms line my way home
Til the stars are above me and find me alone
When the sun comes a peekin’, I’ll still be waitin’.

For green, green the grass is so green
And all the tree leaves have turned green
While the hills are shinin’ with the sun’s yellow haze
Come to the park, see it, green.

Green, green is burstin’ alive
Come out of our daytime dream
Now run to the top of the hill
And open our minds, to color green.

Howard Diamond is a Certified Peer Specialist from Long Island

Revised originally by Howard Diamond @1994
Second revision by Howard Diamond    @2008
Third revision by Howard Diamond        @2022. 2023