Governor Kathy Hochul today recognized May as Mental Health Awareness Month by highlighting the state’s robust efforts to connect individuals with expanded community-based mental health support to aid their recovery once they are discharged from psychiatric care at hospitals, emergency departments and comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs. Governor Hochul also issued a proclamation highlighting programs funded by the roughly $2 billion invested into strengthening the state’s system of care since she launched her landmark mental health initiative in 2023.

“Our bold investments in mental health care are helping to stop the revolving door of care and ensuring that all New Yorkers can access the individualized, person-centered support they can rely on to recover safely within their community,” Governor Hochul said. “During Mental Health Awareness Month, we are highlighting the teams now helping New Yorkers living with mental illness to make these often life-changing connections, the work we are doing to help healthcare providers understand new admission and discharge regulations, and the support they can tap to avoid unnecessary emergency visits.”

New York was ranked first nationally in ‘The State of Mental Health in America,’ a report released by Mental Health America in September that was based on 17 indicators measuring the prevalence of mental illness and access to care. In February, the organization presented Governor Hochul with the 2026 Governor’s Leadership Award, recognizing the ‘significant and sustained investments’ that have strengthened mental health systems across the state’s continuum of care.

Among this work was a concerted effort by the state to ensure New Yorkers receiving behavioral health treatment at hospitals, emergency rooms and comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs were properly screened on admission and then provide them connections to services upon discharge. New regulations promulgated by the state Office of Mental Health and Department of Health standardized admission and discharge criteria, requiring facilities to schedule follow-up appointments, screen for suicide risk and coordinate details with care managers before a patient leaves psychiatric care.

In advance of the regulations taking effect in August, OMH created the Office of Hospital Care and Community Transitions to partner with hospitals to help them find gaps in service, share information within the mental health care system, and build stronger relationships among providers. Since being established last year, this new unit has met with 95 article 28 and article 31 hospitals – nearly all the facilities in the state – and partnered with the Health Department to issue comprehensive guidance in January to help them navigate the new admission and discharge regulations.

Under Governor Hochul’s mental health initiative, the state has invested more than $47 million to establish Critical Time Intervention teams, which provide care management services and support to individuals who are at high risk of being readmitted for emergency treatment after discharge. Teams partner with hospitals and collaborate in aftercare planning to support high-needs individuals transitioning from inpatient care back to the community.

There are now more than 30 teams operational statewide, with others under development. These teams are successfully linking individuals who are at high risk of requiring emergency care to needed services. In the first month of receiving CTI services, 83 percent of adults are linked to outpatient mental health services and 73 percent are linked to primary care services after hospitalization.

OMH has also expanded Intensive and Sustained Engagement teams, which use a voluntary, peer-led engagement approach to provide support services for individuals with complex needs who have difficulty connecting with traditional forms of mental health care. There are now five teams providing services in the New York City area, as well as Westchester, Orange, Sullivan, Rockland, Putnam, Monroe, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, with a sixth expected to come online this summer to serve Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties.

In addition, the state is now expanding the hospital-based Peer Bridgers program, which uses individuals with lived experience to engage patients receiving behavioral health treatment to help them successfully manage crucial transitions in care and become included within the community of their choosing. OMH now supports peer bridgers at Article 28 hospitals in Rochester, Utica and in Queens, while also providing technical assistance to support this initiative.

Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, “The moments after someone leaves emergency or inpatient care can be among the most critical on their path to recovery. Through careful planning and by connecting them with needed supports, individuals and families can access the community-based services that are central to lasting stability and success in their communities. During Mental Health Awareness Month, we recognize Governor Hochul’s leadership in helping to strengthen our state’s continuum of care and ensure all New Yorkers connect with the support they can rely on to thrive in their community.”

Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “I thank Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to improving mental health care across New York. By strengthening discharge planning, improving coordination, and connecting individuals to community-based services, we are helping break the cycle of repeat emergency visits. This work supports better outcomes for patients and a stronger, more responsive health care system.”

In conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, OMH also posted the latest installment of Recovery Stories, a continuing video series featuring New Yorkers describing in their own words their experiences with mental health issues and their journey to recovery, and a message to New Yorkers from Commissioner Sullivan. Governor Hochul also issued a proclamation outlining some of the many initiatives underway to strengthen the state’s mental health care system and ensure all New Yorkers have access to support.

In addition, Governor Hochul directed that 15 state buildings and landmarks be illuminated in green – the color that has come to symbolize mental health awareness — at dusk tonight, Friday, May 1. This includes:

• 1WTC
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• Niagara Falls
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Grand Central Terminal - Pershing Square Viaduct
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Moynihan Train Hall
• Roosevelt Island Lighthouse