Improving emergency responses to mental health crisis calls

VIDEO HERE

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this weekend on In Focus, we open a conversation on providing access to treatment for more New Yorkers and reducing the stigma. JoDee Kenney sits down with Senate Mental Health Committee Chair Samra Brouk, who talks about a bill she sponsored this legislative session to improve emergency responses to mental health crisis calls. “Daniel’s Law” is named for Daniel Prude, the Black man who died in police custody during a mental health crisis call in Rochester in 2020. Brouk said this bill would establish a statewide emergency and crisis response council, and make sure these types of incidents are not automatically treated as a public safety issue. She says when people are experiencing a mental health crisis, de-escalation, compassion, and connection to resources should be the priority.

The senator also discussed the implementation of New York State’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and the need to ensure counselors answering calls have cultural competence and compassion. Brouk talked about improving maternal mental health disparities in New York, citing data that shows Black mothers are twice as likely to experience mental health issues during pregnancy and post-partum, but are half as likely to connect with the right resources for treatment. Improving access to treatment for young people and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, Brouk said, could address the higher incidence of suicide in these populations.

Brouk also discussed rural mental health concerns in areas with fewer providers, pointing to workforce improvement programs, competitive pay, and extending licensing as ways to eliminate coverage gaps and grow diversity in the field.

You can watch the full interview with State Senate Mental Health Committee Chair Samra Brouk via the video player above. And be sure to tune in for a look inside the biggest issues impacting upstate New York, on In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.