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Rising to the COVID-19 Challenge
When Governor Cuomo ordered the closure of non-essential businesses across New York State in response to rising coronavirus infection rates, Odyssey House stayed open. Our essential residential treatment centers, outpatient services, supportive housing apartments, and primary health clinics in...
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Behavioral Health News and Autism Spectrum News: Supporting the Community During the COVID-19 Crisis
The current pandemic shows us how difficult social distancing and sheltering in place have been for the general public. It has been especially hard for people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and people on the autism spectrum. During my own 10-year battle with depression I...
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Anticipating Emotional Reactions During the Covid-19 Pandemic: What We Can Learn from Past Disasters
The national Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) was launched by Vibrant Emotional Health and the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2012 to guarantee that everyone in the United States has access to immediate crisis counseling and support throughout any phase...
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Key Elements for Providers to Address During COVID-19
With the urgency in care for vulnerable populations during this current pandemic, SAE & Associates (SAE) understands providers are looking for answers and solutions to continue and possibly grow services to meet the needs of overall population outcome during COVID-19. It is clear that, as...
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The Unheralded Heroes of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Residential Addiction Treatment Workers
COVID-19 has impacted our world unlike any health crisis during our lifetime. As this ravaging disease continues to spike in many regions, there are of course negative impacts on many other systems throughout society-including how we as individuals cope with the added stressors around us. The crash...
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Behavioral Health During and After the Pandemic
The response of the behavioral health system to the COVID pandemic has been rapid and remarkable. But it is, of course, imperfect and incomplete. What are the challenges still to be met? And what will happen after the pandemic, hopefully, ends and we move on to a new normal? What Has Been Done...
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Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Behavioral Health Effects of Social Distancing and the Social Safety Net
In communities across the United States, social distancing measures are in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is necessary to flatten the curve for Coronavirus infection rates and not overburden our healthcare system as there is no effective treatment or a vaccine on the horizon....
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Helping Vulnerable Populations During COVID-19: Challenges of Mitigation in Congregate Residential Settings
In New York City, tens of thousands of people with serious mental illness or developmental disabilities live in congregate housing or homeless shelters. For behavioral health agencies like the Institute for Community Living (ICL), the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an urgent challenge: With over...
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HDSW’s Living Room: Crisis Day Respite for the COVID-19 Crisis
Crisis in every form, including behavioral health, social, economic and medical, accompanies a pandemic. So what happens to face-to-face crisis services for vulnerable populations when needs are greater, access is more difficult, and social distancing and health risks turn already-fragile worlds...
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Current Telehealth Expansion in the Behavioral Health Sector
Technology permeates almost every facet of our lives, personally and professionally, making communication easier and faster. With seemingly limitless avenues for connection, technology increases the number of touchpoints between people. Now in the middle of an unprecedented heath crisis, many...
