New $650 million plan to address NYC's mentally ill homeless unveiled by Mayor Eric Adams
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams announced a new plan Wednesday to help address the issue of homeless people with mental illness.
He revealed details of a $650 million plan that he first previewed during his State of the City address last week.
"Our new 'Bridge to Home' model will help New Yorkers with severe mental illness and invest in 1,000 street beds that we know are in high demand and that are highly effective. This administration has made the largest annual investment in serving street homelessness in the city's history and has more than doubled our street programming budget from when we came into office. We will continue to lead on this issue because it is the right and compassionate thing to do, and it is how we make New York City the best place to raise a family," Adams said.
More details on "Bridge to Home" plan
Dr. Mitch Katz, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, said that right now there's a fundamental gap with psychiatric hospitalization.
"What do we do after that 14 or 21 or 28 days? We send them out to nothing," Katz said.
"Can you imagine you have mental problems they're dealing with, and you discharging that person knowing they have nowhere to go?" said Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse, who is also a registered nurse.
Under the new NYC Health + Hospitals' "Bridge to Home" plan, patients with serious mental health illness with no place to go will be given temporary housing for 6-12 months. They will be in single rooms, and given three meals a day, have structured recreation and receive behavioral health care and medication management, among other on-site health services. From there, they would be transitioned to permanent supportive housing.
"Our goal is to keep these patients engaged in care and able to develop the skills needed to live a healthy and independent life," Katz said. "We've invested all this money and time in you, and now we have a way of maintaining the plan."
The hope is the new program will reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, the use of shelters and interactions with the criminal justice system.
Adams announced 900 safe haven shelter beds will be added, along with 100 runaway and homeless youth beds.
Andrew Walker is an outreach worker with the city's Department of Homeless Services.
"I believe we're going to see less people sleeping on these streets, sleeping on these subways, and more people accepting services they need," Walker said.
The program is expected to get started during fiscal year 2026 and be fully up and running by the next fiscal year.
Tragic cases of mentally ill homeless and violence in the subway
Adams made the announcement three years after Michelle Go was killed at the Times Square subway station by a homeless man with schizophrenia.
"Michelle Go, a young, promising New Yorker was shoved to the subway track," Adams said.
The announcement also came a day after Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State address, during which she said, "We cannot allow our subway to be a rolling homeless shelter."
She then announced plans to add NYPD officers to subway cars overnight, and talked about the involuntary commitment of the mentally ill.
"Mental illness, particularly among our unhoused population, has contributed to a troubling rise in random acts of violence and a heightened sense of unease in our city," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. "Addressing this crisis requires thoughtful, compassionate action, and I commend the mayor for his proposals aimed at providing treatment, housing, and support, rather than relying on arrest and incarceration. While no single initiative can solve these complex challenges, investments in compassionate, evidence-based approaches will improve public safety and help restore a sense of security for all New Yorkers."