Governor Kathy Hochul announced five conditional awards totaling $15 million over five years to help community-based service providers to develop innovative programs that will help reduce suicide risk among youth from historically underserved populations.
Administered by the Office of Mental Health, the state funding through the Connecting Youth to Mental Health Supports program will help develop programs and suicide prevention strategies among racial and ethnic minority populations and LGBTQ+ groups, including those in rural areas.
“While New York’s suicide prevention efforts are nation-leading, we have seen alarming trends developing among youth and young adults since onset of the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago,” Governor Hochul said. “These awards will help develop innovative and culturally appropriate programs to serve the mental health needs of the young New Yorkers – especially those at the center of these tragic trends.”
The awards will develop community-based, treatment-adjacent mental health services aimed at building a sense of safety and connectedness at-risk populations and to establish partnerships to help these individuals access treatment when needed. Grant recipients with their total award amount over five years include:
Contact Community Services Inc., Onondaga County; $2.9 million
Child Center of New York, New York City; $3.4 million
John R. Oishei Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Erie County; $2.9 million
Access: Supports for Living Inc., Orange County, $2.9 million
Comunilife Inc., Nassau County, $2.9 million
New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, “By focusing prevention efforts on young New Yorkers at risk, we can connect them with critical and sometimes life-saving services they might not otherwise encounter during a mental health crisis. This funding will help community-based service providers to tailor innovative programs to connect with traditionally marginalized groups and help them address their mental health issues in a culturally competent manner.”
