For Immediate Release
Contact: Leanne Ricchiuti, Headline Media for Association for Community Living, 518.222.8073
November 1, 2024
MEDIA ADVISORY
Association for Community Living Launching Annual
Advocacy Campaign to Modernize New York’s Mental Health
Housing System
Support Goes Beyond Wages & Staff to Elevate Impact from Inflation
(Albany, N.Y.) – The Association for Community Living (ACL), has launched its annual advocacy campaign, calling for urgent modernization of New York State’s Mental Health Housing System.
Since the establishment of the current housing models—some dating back to 1984—minimal adjustments have been made to meet the needs of a population that increasingly requires
higher levels of support. The campaign calls for a 7.8% inflationary adjustment to contract rates and $230 million in funding to bolster staffing and resources, with the aim of creating safer, more supportive environments for residents and addressing persistent recruitment and retention issues within the mental health workforce.
In a recent survey of ACL’s members, it’s calculated that approximately $75 million annually is spent on onboarding employees across the entire behavioral health workforce due to a 48% annual staff turnover rate.
ACL leadership and members have been engaging in legislative tours over the last few months that have been providing lawmakers with an in-depth look into the critical care provided by their member communities. The tours have been highlighting the importance of ongoing advocacy for improved wages, increased staffing, and comprehensive care for the current and aging population; but also operating costs that keep increasing for member providers, such as food, fuel, utilities, health and property insurance, cyber insurance, etc.; and that is all just to keep the doors open. These tours also provided representatives from the NYS Office of Mental Health and Division of Budget an opportunity to engage directly with the people ACL serves and to see firsthand the daily operations of the member facilities.
“We’re grateful for the cost-of-living adjustments made in the last three state budgets, but with inflation and growing regulatory demands, our housing providers need further support to sustain
quality services,” said Sebrina Barrett, Executive Director, ACL. “This year’s campaign seeks to bridge that gap, ensuring our housing programs can meet the needs of New Yorkers with serious mental illnesses. And these needs are becoming more complex, due to multiple factors like aging, medical conditions, past trauma, or being homeless or incarcerated.”
As part of ACL’s ongoing advocacy efforts, the association will hold its annual conference at The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, NY, November 5 – 8, where mental health professionals, front line staff, and community leaders will gather to evaluate current approaches, share successes, and explore innovations that can improve mental health housing services. The conference will focus on identifying what is working within the state’s mental health housing infrastructure, areas that need improvement, and the resources required to achieve sustainable change.
An element of this year’s campaign encourages individuals across New York to send e-letters to Governor Kathy Hochul, underscoring the importance of updating mental health housing models and addressing the growing challenges faced by service providers.
The campaign aims to mobilize at least 25,000 e-letters to Governor Hochul by mid-December, as the Governor and her team finalize the Executive State Budget for 2025-2026. With the state budget soon to be drafted, ACL’s message is clear: now is the time to secure the resources necessary to build a better future for individuals living with mental illness in New York.
To learn more about ACL, visit https://aclnys.org/.
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