Our VNS Health Experts Testify … Bills Get Passed, Programs Get Funded!
Vulnerable New Yorkers, including those living with mental illness as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community, will have more support and better access to care in New York City, thanks in part to the recent testimony of VNS Health experts and the mission-driven advocacy of our Government Affairs team.
The Need:
Improve access to community-based behavioral health services throughout New York City.
VNS Health Expert:
Jessica Fear, Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health
Jessica’s Testimony:
In May, Jessica testified to the City Council’s Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions to advocate for the people VNS Health serves every day.
“The individuals and families we serve are no different from you and me, except they exhibit a higher incidence of trauma, anxiety, and depression,” Jessica told the committee. “They often need assistance accessing benefits and basic necessities such as housing, food, and medication.”
As Jessica noted in her testimony, much work needs to be done in this area, including expanding the capacity of existing mental health programs. “We all know these ‘upstream’ investments are critical in order to mitigate the ‘downstream’ effects on individuals and our city,” she testified.
Outcome:
In June, the New York City Council passed a series of bills that will improve access to community-based behavioral health services across the city. The package, part of the city’s Mental Health Roadmap, calls for establishing at least four new crisis respite centers—homelike settings where a person having a mental health crisis can rest and recover—and for developing a public, searchable database of mental health services in New York City. It also funds a public education and outreach campaign to raise awareness of low- or no-cost mental health services in the city.
In addition, the testimony helped secure additional funding and opportunity for VNS Health. The City Council approved $256,200 for our Bronx Geriatric Mental Health Program this year, a more than 40-percent increase over last year, and also funded an expansion of the city’s Intensive Mobile Treatment program, including two new VNS Health IMT teams, in Brooklyn/Staten Island and Manhattan.
The Need:
Protect access to gender-affirming care.
VNS Health Experts:
Arthur Fitting, LGBTQ+ Program Manager
Shannon Whittington, Clinical Director, Gender Affirmation Program
Arthur’s Testimony:
Arthur testified in June to the City Council’s Committee on Health and Committee on Women and Gender Equity about the current state of care access for this at-risk community.
“People who identify as LGTBQ+ have higher rates of poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, and homelessness than non-LGBTQ+ people,” Arthur testified. “They are also at a higher risk for behavioral health problems, including psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, violence and victimization, and suicidal ideation. We can lower the institutional barriers to care by meeting our patients where they are most comfortable—in their own homes and communities.”
Arthur highlighted VNS Health’s trailblazing services that include its Gender Affirmation Program (GAP), the nation’s only specialized post-surgical home-based care program for patients undergoing gender affirmation transition; gender-affirming care using the LGBTQ+ Care Type; outreach initiatives and partnership with SAGECare; and VNS Health’s special needs health plan, SelectHealth, which provides Medicaid coverage for people living the transgender experience.
Shannon’s Ongoing Testimony:
Shannon, who directs VNS Health’s Gender Affirmation Program, speaks to the City Council each year in support of funding for GAP. “Transgender and non-binary people—I don’t think you can get much more vulnerable than that,” Shannon says, noting that more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in states across the country in 2023. “New York is seen as a safe state to be trans, non-binary or gay. And VNS Health is seen as a safe space for care and recovery for members of this community when it’s needed.”
Outcome:
The City Council passed a bill in June that would prohibit New York City from using its resources to enforce restrictions on gender-affirming care inside or outside the state, where such conduct would have been lawful had it occurred in the state of New York. Another bill, calling for improving hospital signage to detail the rights of transgender people and available transgender-specific services, was discussed during the hearing but has not yet been put to a vote. As the health care rights of the LGBTQ+ community are under attack across the country, VNS Health continues to advocate for programs that serve the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
In addition, the City Council allocated $200,000 in continued funding for GAP, and Shannon will soon be meeting with City Council members from the LGBTQIA+ caucus to explore further opportunities for collaboration.
Our Advocacy Continues:
VNS Health has a long history of advocacy to improve the lives of people in need. In fact, as early as 1908, VNS Health’s founder, Lillian Wald, reported to New York State on the condition of immigrants. Lillian also helped New York City officials coordinate a public health response during the 1918 flu pandemic.
That advocacy continues today under the direction of VNS Health’s Government Affairs team. “We represent the interest of the nearly 50,000 patients, members, and clients who are in our care on any given day—including some of the highest acuity, oldest, most marginalized patients in the city and state,” says Jonathan Shabshaikhes, Associate Director of Government Affairs. “We strategically reach out to legislators with the mission of providing equitable health care services to these vulnerable communities. Through our advocacy work, we’re amplifying their voices.”
Adds Juliana Leach, Government Affairs Associate, “It’s incumbent on us to have a voice at the table, not only to inform policy but also to highlight our breadth of services and illuminate how we can be a partner to the city.”