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Community Mental

Health Services Enriching the lives of New Yorkers
by providing a mental health safety net

With over two dozen community outreach programs Other CMHS programs include VNSNY’s Mobile Crisis Teams
for underserved children and adults struggling with acute or (which respond rapidly to provide in-home psychiatric
chronic mental illness or substance use disorders, VNSNY’s assessment and linkage to long term treatment for adults
Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) plays a vital role and children experiencing, or at risk of, a psychiatric or
in New York City’s mental health safety net. psychosocial crisis); our Geriatric Mental Health Outreach
programs (which provide assessment, counseling, and
Drawing on 30 years of experience in the field, CMHS psychiatric care to Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens senior
offers a wide range of interventions that bring targeted citizens in need); our PEARLS program (which provides
care directly to where it’s needed. For children in the cutting-edge treatment for depressed seniors in
Bronx living with serious emotional disturbance, for Manhattan and Queens); the “100 Schools Project”
instance, our FRIENDS programs provide community- (in which social workers are training public school staff
based, family-focused mental health and social services to in Queens and Brooklyn to support the behavioral health
stabilize behavior and ensure greater academic and social of students); and care management for Health Homes,
achievement. Working with several school districts, the servicing participants in several New York City boroughs
programs bring together VNSNY, the New York State as well as a separate program for adults with substance
Office of Mental Health and the New York City Depart- use disorders who apply for or receive public assistance.
ment of Education to support these vulnerable children.

VNSNY’s Community Mental Health Services are funded through grants and contracts from several
government offices, including the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State
Office of Mental Health, and the New York City Human Resources Administration, as well as by managed care
organizations designated to provide behavioral health benefits, Phyllis and Slade Mills, and many generous
individual donors.

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