Trimming mental health facilities is a mistake
We may indeed be “New York Tough,” but are we really willing to let people continue to suffer and hurt themselves or others in order to justify budget savings?
The state Office of Mental Health has proposed cutting hundreds of treatment beds across state-operated mental health facilities, including the complete closure of the Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center and a greater than 50 percent reduction in treatment beds at the Western New York
Children’s Psychiatric Center. These cuts will leave treatment options much fewer and farther between for adults, children and families in our communities.
These inhumane cuts will affect all New Yorkers. A lack of available mental health treatment options, especially inpatient care for children, means that many, especially those without good health insurance, may simply go without treatment.
That will lead to more problems in our society, already struggling with ending a global pandemic that has worsened the mental health of so many. So many are dealing with the loss of loved ones from COVID -19, often with no chance to say goodbye. The increase in anxiety and depression, and the lack of in-person interactions and support, has also led to a troubling increase in children’s suicide rates. We’ve also witnessed deadly incidents where mentally ill individuals have attacked people in the streets. We cannot cut more mental health services without more tragedies.
The state justifies the cuts by claiming a shortage of filled beds during the height of the pandemic. Those unfilled beds were a direct result of their stopping intakes due to the virus. State facilities were at or near capacity before the pandemic, and we now have a growing need for treatment.
CSEA members work throughout the Office of Mental Health, providing dedicated, compassionate care for those seeking treatment from their mental health disorders. They give hope to those in despair and provide families with an unmeasurable sense of relief. Relief that their loved ones won’t end up hurting themselves or someone else. Relief that they won’t end up in our criminal justice system. As New Yorkers we’ve long provided state-operated mental health care because we want to ensure our most vulnerable are taken care of. It’s a priority we cannot afford to abandon.