Alliance Note: We are very grateful to see today’s announcement from Governor Hochul awarding the last of 4 previously authorized INSET (Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team) programs to Recovery Options Made Easy (ROME) in Western NY. ROME joins last year’s awardees at Baltic Street Wellness Solutions in New York City, Hands Across Long Island in Suffolk County and the MHA of Westchester in bringing up this widely acclaimed peer-led approach that has shown great success in voluntarily engaging and supporting people who might otherwise be placed on involuntary outpatient commitment orders in New York via Kendra’s Law.
The Governor’s action here sends a strong message that she is looking to support and expand peer led, voluntary approaches that help engage and support people with major mental health, addiction and trauma-related challenges in distress. We are continuing to work with her Administration and the Legislature to see more INSET programs awarded in the coming year.
| For Immediate Release: 3/20/2024 | GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL |
GOVERNOR HOCHUL EXPANDS SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH COMPLEX MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS IN MONROE COUNTY
$4 Million Allocated to State’s Fourth Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team
Part of Governor’s Landmark $1 Billion Plan to Strengthen the State’s Mental Healthcare System
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that $4 million was awarded to establish a new Intensive and Sustained Engagement team to serve individuals with complex mental health needs in the city of Rochester and Monroe County. Administered by the state Office of Mental Health, the state funding will establish New York’s fourth peer-led team to provide intensive support services for individuals with complex needs, but who have difficulty connecting with traditional forms of mental health care.
“New Yorkers who have lived experience with mental illness are often the ones most effective at successfully engaging individuals with complicated mental and physical health needs,” Governor Hochul said. “By expanding this successful peer-led program to Monroe County, we can reach an even greater number of individuals with unmet mental health care needs and help connect them with the services and supports they can rely on to live safely and successfully in their community.”
The Office of Mental Health (OMH) has awarded $12 million to establish the state’s first three teams in New York City, Westchester, and on Long Island. For the first upstate-based team, Housing Options Made Easy, Inc., an Erie County-based service provider with affiliate programs in 20 neighboring counties, will develop the new team through funding received over five years. The robust team will include a peer team leader, support staff, a family liaison, and licensed professionals, including a social worker and a nurse practitioner.
State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, “Individuals who have lived with mental illness are in a unique position to help those struggling today. These skilled teams can build trust among individuals with complex mental health needs and help them engage in the services needed to further their own unique recovery. Governor Hochul’s expansion of this successful program is yet another example of her resolve to fully address gaps in our mental health care system and ensure that all New Yorkers have access to these supports.”
National studies show that peer support can help reach, engage, and connect with individuals who have trouble connecting to traditional mental health services. While peer professionals support others on the path to recovery, they also teach life skills and help people experiencing mental health challenges to lead successful and meaningful lives in the community.
The Intensive and Sustained Engagement unit is part of Governor Hochul’s $1 billion mental health care plan to strengthen New York State’s mental health care system by adding capacity system-wide, expanding existing programs with a record of success, and funding new evidence-based initiatives. Today, nearly $900 million of this funding is now in procurement.
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