NAMI-NYC is dedicated to working with families and communities to enact policies that divert people living with a mental illness from the criminal legal system and towards recovery. 

Share Your Experiences:

The Disability Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) is seeking to uplift the voices of people living with mental health challenges in evaluating New York City’s B-HEARD mental health crisis response pilot. If you have experienced a B-HEARD response in the last five years, please complete this survey.

We’re actively tracking the following NY state bills: 

• Create permanent funding for 988  
• Pass Daniel’s Law S3670 / A4617 
• Pass the Treatment Court Expansion Act S4547 / A4869 
• Reform BHEARD and create a peer-led non-police response to mental health crises 
• Pass Int 1019-2024 for reporting on mental health emergency response data 
• Increase the amount of Crisis Stabilization Centers and Crisis Respite Centers in NYC  
• Increase funding for Mobile Crisis Teams  
• Close the Rikers Island jail facility 

If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out the following links: 

• #ReimagineCrisis & 988 Information from NAMI National 
• Mental Health and Drug Treatment Courts in New York State: Assessment and The Case for Expansion 
• NYC reports nearly 8K involuntary transports for psychological evaluations in 2024 
• Mayor Eric Adams’ involuntary hospitalization policy criticized by City Council report 
• New York City’s Mental Health Crisis Response Falls Short, Audit Finds 
• Opinion: Rikers must end the inhumane treatment of New Yorkers with mental illness 
• Q&A: Can We Stop Jailing People in Crisis? 

NAMI-NYC is firmly committed to enacting policies that increase access to stable housing and mental healthcare and improve the quality of those services. 

We’re actively tracking the following NY state bills: 

• Enact a true Housing First model  
• Increase funding for Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) Teams  
• Increase salaries for the behavioral health workforce, including peer specialists  
• Reform the hospital discharge planning process  
• Expand the number of school-based mental health clinics in NYC  
• Recruit and hire culturally competent mental health professionals  
• Pass the Social Work Workforce Act S988 / A701 
• Pass the Mental Health Educational & Higher Educational Opportunity Program Act S2046 / A3607  
• Pass Anti-Fail First Insurance Legislation A7522 / S4867  
• Pass Int 1162-2025 for DOHMH to report annually on suicides that occur in the city 

If you’d like to learn more, check out the following links: 

• Still reeling from pandemic, NYC students call for more peer mental health support

NAMI-NYC supports integrating mental health education into our educational system so we can increase understanding about mental illness and give students and educators the tools needed to support themselves and their peers with mental health challenges.  

Take Action:

Thank your legislator for their investment in NAMI-NYC this budget season!

Thank your Council Member for their investment in NAMI-NYC this budget season!

We’re actively tracking the following NY State bills: 

• Fund Family Education, Youth and Peer Support services  
• Create stronger mental health education support systems in all NYS schools  
• Expand access to Clubhouses and Peer Support Groups  
• Pass the Dignity for All Students/Student Suicide Prevention Act S5025 / A7687 
• Pass the College Student Suicide Prevention Act A4921 

To learn more, you can click the following links: 

• Homelessness, mental health and subway safety: How Hochul and Adams faced the trifecta in NY