-
Strengthening New York’s I/DD System Through Collaboration, Innovation, and Alignment
At a moment when New York's intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) system faces significant challenges, one network chose not to wait for change but to lead it. On March 31, 2026, the New York Integrated Network (NYIN) convened its 13 provider agencies, advocacy partners, and...
-
Recovery Policies Consistently Fail When They Ignore Human Behavior
Recovery policies don't fail because people don't want to change; they fail because they're designed for an idealized version of patients that simply doesn't exist. Policies are built in committee rooms, around rational decision-making, clear consequences, and personal responsibility. However, the...
-
Peering In: A Look at Mental Health Peer Providers and How They Help People Recover
I believe that recovery is possible. Not just for me, but for EVERYONE. Does this mean that everyone recovers? No, because not everyone is taught the skills to recover. Also, once a person learns the skills, they must choose to use them. My peer specialist colleagues and I can give you a flashlight...
-
360 is More Than Just an Address, It’s a Model of Care for The Mental Health Association of Westchester
In 2022, preliminary data released by the CDC indicated that more than 100,000 people had died from drug overdoses (CDC). This total marks a new annual record in nationwide drug overdose deaths and is twice the size of 2015’s record, underscoring the alarming escalation of this crisis (NPR, Times...
-
Harm Reduction: A Bridge Back to Life
Harm reduction is a decades-long, well-established, effective tool in reducing illnesses, deaths, and other negative consequences of problematic substance use (Jones et al., 2022). This approach has never been more important as in the current overdose crisis (Perera et al., 2022). Harm reduction...
-
Access for All: Achieving Behavioral Health Equity in Healthcare
Health equity is a fundamental principle that aims to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity to achieve optimal health, regardless of their social or economic circumstances. Behavioral health equity refers to the fair and just distribution of behavioral health resources, supports,...
-
For One Mind, Too Many Silos
In the worlds of advocacy and policy making, there are sharp distinctions drawn among Alzheimer’s (and other dementias), mental illness, and substance use disorders. This results in separate, distinct, and insular fields of policy and practice, often referred to as “silos.” Frankly,...
-
Serious Mental Illness Recovery: The Basics
When managing serious mental illness (SMI), the recovery journey can be long and challenging. It often requires creative and prolonged efforts to build and maintain a full life, but many people do reach recovery. In fact, up to 65% of people living with SMI experience partial to full recovery...
-
Facilitating Trauma-Informed Organizational Change: OASAS Trauma-Informed Care Champions
Last June of 2020, Arlene González-Sánchez, LMSW, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) announced a partnership with the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. The goal of the...
-
Excellence in Wellness: Whole Self Care Program at S:US
The notion of Integrated Health in behavioral health care is rooted in the need to improve the health outcomes in the lives of people in recovery from mental and/or substance use disorders. Preventative measures are critical to addressing the rates of chronic illness and premature death experienced...
