Association For Community Living Executive Director’s Statement in Response to Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget
January 18, 2022 – (Albany, N.Y.) – The Association for Community Living (ACL) Executive Director, Sebrina Barrett, delivers the following statement in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s Executive Budget for FY 2023, released today.
“ACL’s members and I are thrilled to see that the Governor has recognized the need due to decades of underfunding and has prioritized mental health housing by allocating the necessary funding to support Office of Mental Health (OMH) residential programs, so that more New Yorkers can reach their recovery goals.
In addition to funding the 5.4% human services Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), the Executive Budget makes a two-year commitment of an additional $104 million to increase support for existing community-based residential programs – $65 million in FY 2023 and $39 million in FY 2024 – and includes legislation to extend property pass-through provisions to include OMH supported housing.
Our members’ staff have served, and continue to serve, on the frontline throughout this pandemic facing extraordinary challenges and demands, and it is time they and the residents receive the much needed help they deserve.
In addition to recognizing the housing needs, we applaud the Governor for recognizing the importance of funds to be allocated to the 988 Crisis Hotline, the development of 7,000 new supportive housing units across the state, and $200 million to support healthcare and mental hygiene worker bonuses.
At this time, we understand that there is great need everywhere; we thank Governor Kathy Hochul for her leadership, and we call on the legislature to authorize the Executive Budget that realizes the Governor’s commitment to community-based mental health housing.”
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