NYC Health + Hospitals Opens 16 Mental Health Clinics in NYC Schools, Serving Over 6,000 Students

NEW YORK – On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals announced the opening of 16 mental health clinics in Department of Education (DOE) schools.

Over the next six months, they will serve more than 6,000 students throughout The Bronx and Central Brooklyn.

The clinics provide students with access to individual, family and group therapy, with links to outpatient clinics and telehealth services as needed.

“The stress, isolation and anxiety of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought mental health to the forefront of the conversation for many of us,” said Mayor Adams. “By investing in student mental health and providing services right where young people need them, in our public schools, we are building early solutions that will help us build a healthier city construction.”

In addition, teachers and school staff will have access to mental health clinic staff for consultations, training and workshops to ensure that students are adequately supported and referred to care.

Schools will also receive support so they can respond to mental health emergencies without unnecessary calls to 911 and avoid visits to emergency rooms and hospitals.

The 16 new satellite clinics build on the five mental health clinics that NYC Health + Hospitals already uses in the city’s public schools.

“Family and youth mental health are key components of our overall plan to support the mental health of all New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. a layered approach to supporting youth by adding these clinics in the Bronx and Brooklyn to a variety of other touch points, including our TeenSpace initiative, which offers services free telemental health for young people. Many thanks to all our partners who are able to do this work.”

The new mental health clinics in schools are funded with $3.6 million from the Mental Health Continuum, a $5 million partnership between NYC Health + Hospitals, the DOE, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and Advocates the Children mentioned. as part of the Adams administration’s mental health agenda, “Care, Community, Action: A Mental Health Plan for New York City.”

The clinics also received a total of $700,000 in grants from the New York State Office of Mental Health through the Outpatient Treatment and Rehabilitation Services Program.

“Our city’s public schools are proud to partner with NYC Health + Hospitals, the Office of School Health’s School Mental Health Program, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Health on the Mental Health Continuum,” said DOE Chancellor David C. Banks “Now in its third year, more than 50 schools in the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn have access to rapid care for students struggling with mental health issues through NYC Health + Hospitals clinics and emergency teams.” Schools will also be supported to engage in collaborative problem solving across the school, an approach to reducing challenging behaviour, developing skills and strengthening relationships ‘ continue this partnership and build a stronger continuum of care to improve the delivery of mental health services to students and families.”

In addition to the 16 new school-based satellite clinics, an additional 34 schools will have access to expedited referrals for evaluation and treatment directly to NYC Health + Hospitals outpatient mental health clinics. In total, this program serves more than 20,000 students in 50 schools in the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn.

The 16 schools that will host mental health clinics were identified through an ongoing data-driven collaborative effort to identify schools with the greatest needs across the city, particularly schools without on-site mental health services or community partnerships with mental health clinics.

This model aims to meet the needs of students with significant mental health issues in schools and neighborhoods with the New York City Police Department’s highest rates of school interventions, suspensions and chronic absenteeism.

NYC Health + Hospitals will open behavioral health satellite clinics at the following schools over the next year:

The Bronx

• Mott Hall III
• S. X140 School of the Eagle
• Port Morris Community Leadership School
• PS 035 Franz Siegel
• PS 063 – Author’s Academy
• PS 277X
• South Bronx Preparation

Brooklyn

• All City Leadership High School
• Brighter Choice Community School
• Evergreen Middle School for Urban Research
• Kappa V: Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy
• MS K394
• Parkside Preparatory Academy
• PS 041 Francis White
• PS/IS 384 Frances E Carter
• Brooklyn Green School

“This important multi-agency collaboration will expand access to mental health services to some of the communities in New York City hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jennifer Havens, Director of Behavioral Health Strategy and Child and Adolescent Growth from NYC Health + Hospitals, MARYLAND. “We value the opportunity to reach children and families where they are, when they need us.”