Everyone in life goes through something, said Stacey Hamilton, 52, a peer specialist and social worker, reassuring Mr. Abreu during a recent visit that he, too, could become a peer counselor and recalling her own history of mental illness and incarceration. Speaking to the Post,Queens Councilman Robert Holden told the New York Post: 'I like the fact that money is going toward mental health, but when they say we're seeing a benefit in all areas, I take exception to that, because I don't see it everywhere. Last month, McCray and de Blasio announced the appointment of Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson together. Thats because there never was any doubt what the program was about. Thrive also is meant to focus on communities African Americans, Latinos, military veterans who are less likely to seek care for mental health problems. Health Department employees now conduct the eight-hour classes daily at churches, schools and community centers. There is a program NYC Safe that is embedded into the criminal justice and homeless services agencies to connect high-risk individuals to outpatient treatment, according to a 2015 city announcement. However, it does not show whether programs met or surpassed their goals, and whether New Yorkers are better off for it. Chirlane McCray can't explain where the $850m in funding has gone after it was given to the organizationshe runs, ThriveNYC. But lets be clear: If your boondogglery sets the New York City Council back on its heels, you truly are soaring with the eagles. (Hes kind of busy, she said.). We do have some outcomes. Bill de Blasio's wife cant account for $850 million allocated to her pet project. The biggest challenge for Mr. de Blasio and Ms.. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post.The City Council discovered this shocking amount of potential waste during a We invite you to become a WeLoveTrump insider. Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? City officials, for example, could not say how many people have been connected to treatment after calling the citys new mental health hotline, because fewer than 10 percent agree to a follow-up. One frequent critic of the program said McCrays reticence in discussing violence related to mental health was a cop-out. Bill de Blasio's wife can't account for staggering amount of taxpayer money that the NY Mayor gave her for mental health project Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray cannot explain where $850million given to the mental health program she champions has gone, according to reports. For instance, Thrives metrics show that between July 2016 and October 2018, 189,070 Naloxone kits were distributed throughout hospitals, syringe exchange programs and other sites where opioid overdose is common. McCray is the proprietress of ThriveNYC, a mental-health-related something-or-other created four-plus years ago to give a little heft to the conceit that Bill and Chirlane were elected as co-mayors which is nonsense on stilts. Right up there with co-Mayor Bill, who started the week on his own sour note announcing that his signature Renewal school program was closing up shop after pounding $773 million down a rathole. Facebook is heavily censoring information from independent sources. Things happen. Chirlane McCray has made her advocacy on behalf of mental health a big part of Thrive, as she seeks to erase the stigma around seeking services. A spreadsheet of nearly 500 data points tracked by City Hall included almost none related to patient outcomes. Meanwhile, the same number either closed or were merged with other schools while under the initiative. It is not, in the end, just about money. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. Now we have to shift into another phase.. People are allowed to call anonymously, and the calls are confidential. A university finally stands up to woke virtue signaling, GOPers stand up for life and against AG Merrick Garland, Biden's WHO pandemic treaty would kill Americans in the name of 'equity', Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims. In the three years the program has been running, organizers at ThriveNYC have failed to keep complete records of the initiative's achievements, with the fragments of data that has been collected, showing it lagging well behind targets. Frustration over Thrives veteran outreach program spilled over into a tense Council hearing just this week. Click here to log out. ", CHIRLANE MCCRAY ENJOYS $2M STAFF OF 14 AMID NYC BUDGET CRISIS, He added, "The mental health crisis is much deeper because of the coronavirus, across the whole city, that's one of the things she's been working on intensely, but also as the co-chair of the internal task force this extraordinary task force on racial inclusion that has been moving big policy changes.". Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? The site said it had tried and failed to acquire a line-item budget from Thrive, and the two budget breakdowns it had seen showed wildly different numbers. Folks, let me tell you something, if there truly is a "scheme" here and the money was intentionally "misused" or funnelled somewhere, that is criminal. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. Two budget breakdowns acquired by POLITICO one from City Hall and one from the Independent Budget Office show significant differences in spending. Arizona Hospital Temporarily Suspends Admission of Cardiac Arrest Patients Due Democrats Hiding That John Fetterman is Brain Dead to Prevent Special Election? One, fromCity Hall, showed $594million in spending, but a second, from the Independent Budget Office, showed $816milion. New York has given up on policing drugs, and the city suffers, David Paterson is right Mayor Adams needs to get tougher. For example, 29 hospitals had agreed to screen almost 78,000 new mothers for post-natal depression each year as part of the scheme. Public health officials credit the plan for drawing attention to mental health, often too easily ignored by political leaders. Speaking to the Post,Queens Councilman Robert Holden told theNew York Post: "I like the fact that money is going toward mental health, but when they say we're seeing a benefit in all areas, I take exception to that, because I don't see it everywhere. It is a hard thing to measure, because its never existed before, Ms. McCray said in an interview at Gracie Mansion last month. To serve that population, the city is spending $12 million a year on the NYC-WELL hotline not including nearly $11 million spent on advertising in 2017, mostly to promote the service. @NYCMayor and 'co-mayor' wife @NYCFirstLady have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer money https://t.co/gT7Lb67zI0, Brooklyn Republicans (@KingsCountyGOP) March 1, 2019, https://twitter.com/CGasparino/status/1101548456999616512, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion." Twenty-nine hospitals responsible for more than 78,000 newborn deliveries each year representing nearly seven in 10 births in the city committed to screen all new mothers for maternal depression. ). Similar programs like the Mental Illness and Drug Dependence program in King County, Washington, produce reports that illustrate the target number of people it hopes to reach and the actual number served data that Thrive lacks. For instance, Thrive calculates how many mayors attended a national conference on mental health just seven when New York City hosted it in 2017. But that kind of programming wont address institutional problems like homelessness and serious mental illness, which are financial and safety burdens to the city, he said. Even as the city has poured money into mental health programs and training, nonprofit directors said they still struggle with providing treatment, citing inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates and even less generous reimbursements from commercial insurers. During one such episode in 2012, a man whose family members called 911 to try to help him, attacked one of the responding officers, stabbing him in the neck and face. She is routinely visible around de Blasio at times when he is making high profile announcements and administration appointments. Anyone can read what you share. The Thrive program, which had its budget raised to $250 million per year in 2019, has produced some underwhelming numbers in terms of how many people it impacts. Only 570 of the estimated 12-15,000 mothers who experience postpartum depression have been reached by the program, Politico reported, a number NYC disputes. That is, once upon a time, first spouses were content to pretend to be in charge of prettifying highways and things. Claim Your Free Trump 2020 Hat - Just Cover Shipping Poof. I first saw the story online under the title: "Bill DeBlasio's Wife Reportedly Loses $850 Million of Taxpayer Funds! The data comes from a Politico report that shows those running the scheme have largely failed to measure its impact or keep track of spending. If we want to reach all these women, we need to start somewhere. De Blasio and 'co-mayor' wife have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer money Fast-forward to Wednesday, when the City Council was startled to discover that McCray and Team Thrive are closing in on having spent an eye-popping $900 million since the program's inception and nobody seems to have a clue on what. In the case of diversion programs, which aim to keep individuals with mental health and substance use problems in treatment instead of jails, Thrive only tracks the number of people released under supervision and those screened during pre-arraignment not if or how city-funded intervention worked. Before the Thrive initiative, he said, there was not even a pretense of a mental health system in the city.. https://t.co/fqUIyfFc8Z. The City Hall budget shows $594 million in spending since ThriveNYCs inception. Questions have mounted in recent days over McCrays expansive role in high-level City Hall decisions, despite having no official title other than wife of the mayor. Of the 78,000 newborn deliveries in the city annually, only 28,560 new mothers have been screened by the Thrive program. Zelensky Exposed (Literally): This Is The Guy We Are Sending Billions To? McCray formally serves as chair of the Mayors Fund to Advance New York City and is the face of ThriveNYC an $850 million dollar administration initiative she helped design to improve the citys mental health and substance abuse services. Deutsch said it also took Thrive weeks to get back to him about training his constituents in Mental Health First Aid a free, eight-hour course that helps individuals identify and respond to mental illness. And even some experienced in mental health services have been surprised at what the service does not offer. Thank you! Press Esc to cancel. The city has not begun tracking several programs, such as one for outreach to veterans with mental health challenges and another for trauma services for families with young children, according to the metrics. Roughly 10 percent of the Thrive budget, more than $30 million in the current fiscal year, goes to address serious mental illness, according to City Hall. Hey, the family that preys together stays together, right? Another prominent element of Thrive is an expansion of mental health first aid training. The plan, which includes dozens of discrete programs across 15 city agencies, has undergone two leadership changes in the last year; the most recent saw a top official from the Police Department, Susan Herman, taking charge last month. The data also showed almost 190,000 Narcan kits were handed out to hospitals where opioid use is common, but there is no evidence of how many were used. The service also includes text and web chat. That Stringer could sleep through it all is the real scandal; why does the city even have a comptroller, if thats the standard of performance? "This work is about the needs of the people of this city. "I'm not sure anybody does.". That it should happen in a single week is worse its an embarrassment. The programs at issue ostensibly are meant to assist particularly challenged people the helpless, often homeless, mentally ill and small children whose futures are forfeited because they landed in shamefully nonfunctional schools, an experience from which they will never recover. He receives regular visits from a psychiatrist and a peer counselor. .hustle-ui.hustle_module_id_1[data-id="1"] .hustle-layout .hustle-button-cta {width:100%!important;font-size:18px!important;}.hustle-ui.module_id_1 .hustle-popup-content {max-width: 400px!important;}.hustle-group-content p {font-size:18px!important;margin: 24px 0 0!important;}.hustle-content-wrap{padding-bottom:0!important;}, We may receive compensation from affiliate partners for some links on this site. Thank you! At the same time, some initiatives failed to get started, while others placed unrealistic demands on already strained mental health services. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post.