NYC First Lady Works to Create a Mental Health Services “Roadmap”

Samaritan Village’s Vice President Roy Kearse recently joined 10 other organizations in a roundtable led by New York City’s First Lady Chirlane McCray. The group discussed services currently available to veterans with substance abuse and mental health issues. For Samaritan Village, the meeting was the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with the First Lady about the veteran population.

McCray and the Commissioner for the Mayor’s Office for Veteran’s Affairs Loree Sutton led the roundtable at Fountain House, a pioneer of innovative, comprehensive and humane ways to improve the lives of people with mental illness.

In addition to Samaritan Village and the host, Fountain House, organizations joining in the discussion were representatives from the federal Department of Veteran Affairs, the Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs, Office of the First Lady NYC, and City Council Members Corey Johnson and Eric Ulrich. Participants also included Yoga for Veterans, Weil Cornell Medical College, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, among others.