For Immediate Release
Contact: Leanne Ricchiuti, Overit for Association for Community Living, 518.222.8073
January 10, 2023
STATEMENT
Association For Community Living Applauds Governor Kathy Hochul Commitment to Mental Health Housing
Nearly $1 Billion Dedicated to New Mental Health Housing, over Five Years
(Albany, N.Y.) – The Association for Community Living (ACL) applauds the Governor for including mental health housing in this year’s State of the State Address. Governor Kathy Hochul has made returning capital funding to the Office of Mental Health a priority with the announcement to develop 3,500 new units of mental health housing over the next five years. This housing will be specific to those in mental health recovery, serving a broad spectrum of those in need.
ACL Executive Director Sebrina Barrett delivers the following statement in response to Governor Hochul’s State of the State address:
“ACL and its members are incredibly thankful for the advances the state has made in mental health housing under the leadership of Governor Hochul. This new investment is an unprecedented move that demonstrates significant support for New Yorkers with severe mental illness. This is a clear illustration of Governor Hochul’s understanding that housing is the foundation to recovery. Moreover, New York State’s recent increased support in funding for existing housing in the midst of rising inflation and workforce shortages is essential to ensuring that those with severe, persistent mental illness will maintain in their home and continue on their recovery.
While today’s announcement is an important advancement for the future, as Governor Hochul and her team prepare to put forward the SFY 2023-24 state budget, we urge them to remember the nearly 40,000 people currently working towards recovery who need more help now. Despite the 5.4% cost of living (COLA) increase in the enacted SFY 2022-23 state budget, many issues are still creating enhanced challenges for our member providers; these include aging residents with multiple significant medical issues, staffing shortages, inflation, and competitive pay. We need to meet the needs of those living in these homes now.
Particularly pressing is the fact that more than 40% of our residents, who are age 55 and older, are experiencing more than 166 medical challenges, which our current program and staffing model is not equipped to handle. There is nowhere else for these residents to get the care they need, as nursing homes are not able to meet both the mental health and medical challenges they are facing, and home health care providers are suffering the same workforce challenges plaguing other service sectors. We must find answers soon; these aging residents deserve the chance to age with dignity, comfortably, and gracefully in their homes, and we look forward to working with Governor Hochul and others to develop solutions during this legislative session. We are hopeful that the new housing investment will take into account enhancements, and perhaps a new model, needed to serve our aging residents.
We look to the Governor and the Legislature to enact an 8.5% COLA increase in this year’s budget, as well as to address the $96 million shortfall in funding for existing residential programs. After nearly 40 years of underfunding, last year’s budget commitment was a welcome bandaid that provided a measure of relief. We are excited to work with the Governor, the Legislature, and the Office of Mental Health to ensure this new major investment takes into account all aspects of residents’ needs in order to effect serious change, enhance and modernize these decades-old housing models, and provide the most vulnerable residents of New York with the housing and tools they need for successful recovery.”
– 30 –