"Nearly five years since its creation, the Behavioral Health Emergency Response Division - also known as B-HEARD - has been beset with problems. The program sends mental health professionals and EMTs to certain mental health emergencies, rather than the police."
"Experts familiar with B-HEARD said scaling it up won't be easy. 'They are going to continue to struggle with the same thing we struggled with, which is to expand B-HEARD,' said Brian Stettin, who advised former Mayor Eric Adams on mental health issues."
"Dr. Gary Belkin, who oversaw policy for de Blasio's mental health initiative Thrive from 2014-2018, said headline-grabbing crimes can derail efforts to boost mental health training for New Yorkers and open care facilities."
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is focused on reforming the Behavioral Health Emergency Response Division (B-HEARD) to enhance responses to mental health emergencies. Despite rerouting more 911 calls to B-HEARD, the program has struggled, responding to over one-third of eligible calls. Experts indicate that scaling up B-HEARD will be challenging due to operational constraints, including staffing shortages and union rules. Mamdani's recent decision to change the program's management structure may impact its effectiveness in addressing mental health crises without police involvement.
Read at Gothamist
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