NY Senator Samra Brouk (SD-55) Statement - Daniel’s Law Task Force

**Statement from Senator Samra G. Brouk (SD-55)**

“Since the very first meeting of the Daniel’s Law Task Force, we’ve heard from hundreds of people from across the state about the crucial need for New York to establish a statewide crisis response system that better meets the needs of people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. Every single New Yorker in crisis deserves to receive compassionate, trauma-informed care that centers peer-led and culturally competent care. At today’s Daniel’s Law Task Force meeting we heard from NYC’s B-HEARD (Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division) program. The experiences shared reinforce that we must think of mental health and substance use crisis response in the same way we think about our police, fire and ambulance/rescue management systems – all must be essential, 24/7 services delivered by teams of dedicated professional and volunteer workers. With the passage of Daniel’s Law (Senate Bill 2398) New York will have an opportunity to both honor the life and memory of Daniel Prude, who died in 2020 in Rochester, NY, at the hands of police while having a mental health crisis, and transform crisis response systems that have been proven harmful.”