NYCHA Joins the Push to Destigmatize Mental Health Issues
New York City is in a public health crisis when it comes to mental health. At least one in five New Yorkers is likely to experience a mental health disorder each year, and 41 percent of those with mental illness said they did not receive or were delayed in getting treatment in the past year.
To help address these challenges, NYCHA recently began providing an eight-hour course titled “Mental Health First Aid” for employees, as part of the ThriveNYC mental health care initiative launched by New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray. NYCHA aims to train over 2,000 employees in topics such as mental health first aid, substance abuse, suicide, and eating disorders, with the ultimate goal of educating staff on the signs of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.
“Our goal is to give city residents and NYCHA employees information and tools to more confidently recognize mental health signs and symptoms while also destigmatizing mental health issues so city residents feel more comfortable speaking up,” said NYCHA Administrative Staff Analyst and Certified Mental Health Instructor Helen Reinstein. “We are working to develop an outlook that is person first, not diagnosis first. The Mental Health First Aid training course is a program of compassion designed to raise awareness.”
“My eyes were opened,” said program graduate and NYCHA Agency Attorney William Komar. “This may be the first time many are forced to think about mental health issues. It’s important that we use the resources available so we can begin to destigmatize mental illnesses and discuss them as health issues.”
The one-day training sessions are being presented by Human Resource’s Learning and Development Team and Community Engagement and Partnerships’ Family Partnership Unit. Titles and departments with greater client/employee-facing duties will be notified about the training first.
“We are very happy to be a part of the process,” said NYCHA Management Trainer and Certified Mental Health Instructor Lisa Clavery. “We hope employees will look at this as a resource, not just another job assignment. We’ve gotten very positive results. The training has already provided many NYCHA employees with tools and skills that they can use both in their work and in other aspects of their lives.”
