D.A. to Fund Mental Health Care for People Arrested in Manhattan

Many New Yorkers charged with crimes are connected to mental health and housing services soon after their first court appearance to expedite treatment, a Manhattan district attorney said Wednesday.

of $9 million initiativeThis will also include support for communities separate from the court system, with some defendants now having to wait weeks or months before they can receive treatment, local officials said. Prosecutor Alvin Bragg said.

Bragg said the program will focus on repeat offenders and “people in high need”, with the goal of preventing people from biking to and from courts and Rikers Island jail.

“Everyone has people they’ve seen in the neighborhood for years, people who disappear once and come back all the time,” he said. We’re at Rikers, an institution.And we can’t have that.We need to do something different.”

While the City remains committed to best practices for public safety, it also provides assistance to those with mental health issues. The mentally ill have long lived on the streets and taken refuge in the subway system. A chance encounter with police or civilians can quickly boil over, leading to serious injury or even death.

Mayor Eric Adams developed a plan Earlier this month, police had more discretion to remove homeless New Yorkers who behaved threateningly to themselves or others and take them to hospitals for treatment.

That plan was challenged in Manhattan federal court last week.On Wednesday, Judge Paul Crotty denied permission Calling for their temporary restraining order However, he said he would hold a hearing on the case in the coming weeks.

Unlike Adams’ plan, Mr. Bragg’s participation in the initiative is voluntary. Bragg said Wednesday that his program has been in the works for months and was unrelated to the mayor’s proposal.

The first phase, costing about $6 million, will involve 36 social service workers reaching out to homeless people in the Lower East Side and Chinatown. Washington Heights and Inwood. Central and Eastern Harlem. Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, West Midtown. Workers first help people get basic supplies such as food and clothing, then connect them to behavioral health services and permanent housing.

Each of these regional community programs will receive approximately $1.4 million in grants to support six months of planning and three years of implementation. Additional funding may be made available to other regions as needed.

In the second phase of the plan, the social worker will meet with the defendant in a Manhattan criminal court following arraignment. Workers can then help the accused get clothes, Metrocards, and meals, followed by long-term treatment programs and connections to supportive housing. We can also help defendants avoid missing court appearances.

District Attorney spokesman Doug Cohen said there are no set criteria for defendants to be able to connect to the service. Still, the resource is intended for those released from custody and entering the community. People charged with serious crimes are more likely to end up in prison as the case progresses.

Bragg said his office will measure progress on the program by monitoring how many people actually want to use these community services. But he hopes to gradually expand the program by connecting more people with affordable housing and other supportive services.

“The criminal justice system should not be the primary vehicle for addressing mental and behavioral health,” he said. It addresses the broader safety needs of