NYC's B-Heard mental health response teams focus of City Council hearing

NEW YORK - The New York City Council Monday held a hearing about a pilot program that deploys mental health professionals instead of police to certain situations. 

Those who have been directly impacted spoke about the city's B-Heard program. 

Several City Council committees held a joint hearing on the program, which deploys teams of the Fire Department's EMTs and paramedics and NYC Health + Hospitals' mental health professionals to 911 mental health calls that qualify, meaning there are no concerns about violence, or weapons. 

The pilot program currently operates teams seven days a week, 16 hours a day. One speaker said the program should expand to cover 24 hours. The pilot program is available in 31 of the city's 77 police precincts, and it was recently announced that it would be more flexible than just being confined to those precincts. 

According to data released by the city last week, B-Heard responded to nearly 15,000 calls between July 2023 and June 2024. As for plans to expand the program, administrative budget constraints and hiring challenges are blamed for it not growing. 

"Trust that can be gained through someone with lived experience and without the power dynamics with the police," one person said. 

"As soon as I found out they called the police, my mental health crisis immediately escalated," one speaker said. 

It's that lived experience that had them advocating for peers to assist during mental health calls. 

City Councilmembers also heard from other cities like Denver, which uses STAR - Support Team Assisted Response - a civilian response dispatched by 911 for mental health calls. The STAR program responded to 4,489 clinical encounters with 2,943 individuals over the past 12 months, without a single arrest. 

It was also suggested that people call the mental health number 988 instead of 911 if police, fire or EMS personnel are not needed. Mental health experts will be stationed with dispatchers.