Uniondale's battle against homelessness and the mental health crises

Nassau County is leading the way in reforming approaches to nonviolent offenses and mental health crises. The goal is to provide an alternative to calling police when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, but not posing a threat to themselves or others.

One major development of the past three years is the implementation of the county’s Mobile Crisis Unit — an on-the-go unit of mental health professionals who are dispatched instead of law enforcement.

Nassau County Legislator Siela A. Bynoe, who represents Legislative District 2, which includes Uniondale, sponsored the bill that created the Mobile Crisis Unit after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in June 2020.

The County Legislature had responded to the murder by ordering a study of alternative responses to mental health crisis calls.

“Upon completion of this study,” Bynoe said, “Nassau County has appropriately incorporated the increased use of its expanded mental health crisis team into its strategies.”

Bynoe’s office will closely monitor statistics and outcomes to ensure the program’s success, making certain it is resourced and positioned to prevent people from becoming wrongfully entrapped in the criminal justice system.

According to a report on mental health responses by Nassau County, in 2020 the Nassau County Police Department responded to 1,134 calls for mental health crises in Uniondale. Sixty percent of those calls resulted in a subject being taken into custody, 28 percent resulted in a subject being transported to a hospital, and 12 percent resulted in a subject being released at the scene.

But although the Mobile Crisis Unit has ramped up its services, the calls to police during a mental health crisis have remained dominant. Anissa Moore, deputy county executive of health and human services, said that too few residents know about the Mobile Crisis Unit, especially in areas like Uniondale, which would most benefit from the services the unit provides.

“The goal is to save lives, and to hopefully work with the person in crisis so that they can get the help that they need,” Moore said, adding that current state laws tend to limit what the Mobile Crisis Unit is trying to accomplish.

“The issue is because of state law, we can’t force anyone to stay in a hospital for observation,” Moore explained.

A person suffering psychosis who gets picked up by the Mobile Crisis Unit can admit to being suicidal, yet still refuse the resources and treatments available. According to the New York State Mental Hygiene Law, patients can be held involuntarily only in extreme circumstances. Two physicians must determine that the person is likely to cause serious harm to themselves or others, is unable to provide for basic needs or functions, and is gravely disabled.

Moore also said that the issue of mental health intersects with poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, and lack of resources and education.

According to the 2020 Point-in-Time Count report from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, in that year, about 125 people were homeless in Uniondale. Also, according to the 2020 Annual Report of the Nassau County Department of Social Services, 25 percent of homeless people in the county that year suffered from a serious mental illness.

Moore said that the county is addressing not just the issues of mental health and homelessness, but all of the factors that contribute to poverty. The county is therefore combining the resources of departments that wouldn’t normally work with one another, such as the Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency, and Disability Services, and the Office of Youth Services.

In addition, a brand new Health Equity Resource Center is opening on Main Street in Hempstead, Moore said. The facility will address maternal health care, provide breast cancer awareness initiatives and education, and offer education about nutrition and wellness.

“Our statistics show that Black and Latina women are really struggling in these areas,” Moore said. “We are trying to be proactive so that we can do better in terms of the quality of life for our residents.”

Increasing community awareness about the Health Equity Resource Center is a focus of the whole project. “We want people to use the services,” Moore said. “The services are here for you as taxpayers, and you have the right to know that the county is committed to really helping people, but if you don’t use the service, then we can’t help you.”

County officials urge Uniondale residents who see someone experiencing a nonviolent mental health crisis to call the Mobile Crisis Unit’s Uniondale headquarters, at (516) 227-8255, or visit the office, at 60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 200.