The scores of people experiencing mental health crises who have died at the hands of the police over the years is a microcosm of the police brutality that is being protested around the world today. In the last five years alone, the New York Police Department killed 18 individuals who were experiencing a mental health crisis, and, 15 – or greater than 80% – of those killed were people of color.

This must end. The time to act is now!

Although we applaud the Mayor’s allocation of $112M to fund a city-wide mental health crisis response system with the goal of limiting police as responders, we need to ensure that individuals who experience a mental health crisis receive appropriate services to de-escalate the crisis and ensure their wellbeing and the wellbeing of all other New Yorkers. Only those who are trained in de-escalation practices should respond to a mental health crisis, and the most appropriate individuals to respond are trained peers (those with lived mental health experience) and health care providers.

We need a healthcare response to mental health crises, not police!

Correct Crisis Intervention Today – NYC (CCIT-NYC), a coalition of more than 80 mental health advocacy and other community organizations, consisting of hundreds of community stakeholders, reiterates the need for a mental health crisis response system that incorporates the latest standards in crisis de-escalation, and is responsive to the concerns of affected communities, especially communities of color.

Now is the time for major transformations; lives are literally at stake. We need your support!

Click here to submit testimony to City Council’s Finance Committee.

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