Right up there with co-Mayor Bill, who started the week on his own sour note announcing that his signature Renewal school program was closing up shop after pounding $773 million down a rathole. He now regularly names Thrive as one of his administrations core achievements. "I like the fact that money is going toward mental health, but when they say we're seeing a benefit in all areas, I take exception to that, because I don't see it everywhere," Queens Councilman Robert Holden told The Post. I bet you're never seen this story reported on the nightly newsbut don't worry, we'll show it to you! Bill de Blasio's wife "misplaced" $850 million taxpayer money All rights reserved. Is Kathy Hochul's governorship already beyond redemption? Now we have to shift into another phase.. Dr. Belkin said that while suicide rates are not the best measure, the Health Department has been looking at trends in suicide attempts, based on emergency room visits. New York is supposed to be better than that. Besides the ramped-up spending, a big part of Thrive has been Ms. McCrays advocacy. Only 570 of the estimated 12-15,000 mothers who experience postpartum depression have been reached by the program, Politico reported, a number NYC disputes. That escalated the situation, he said. The call center, operated under city contract, took over the old Lower Manhattan offices of a city suicide hotline known as LifeNet, a service with calls that peaked at 105,000 in 2014. The IBO budget shows $816 million. Well, he didnt actually say rathole, and the price tag has doubtless been lowballed but he also had no credible explanation for the debacle, nor did he apologize for it. No, Dr. Gary Belkin, a top health official and the chief of policy and strategy for Thrive, said of using the hotline to connect people to care effectively. The wife of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio "can't account for" $850 million in missing taxpayer money that was granted to her mental health project, according to reports. Fellow contender for the Brooklyn borough presidency,City Councilman Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn), slammed the spending, according to The New York Post. | AP Photo. In an interview with POLITICO in August, she acknowledged Thrive had not yet released data on its performance related to its mental health hotline, NYC Well. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. POLITICO filed a records request for the programs line-item budget in October 2018, but the city has twice requested an extension. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post. De Blasio insisted McCray is just as available to questions as he is, despite a majority of the first ladys events having no question and answer period. Ms. McCray, for example, seldom talks about Thrive without imploring audience to repeat the number of its mental health hotline, 1-888-NYC-WELL. Much of the development of Thrive was personal, born of Mr. de Blasios and Ms. McCrays own difficulties navigating the mental health system on behalf of their daughter, Chiara, who struggled with depression and drugs during high school and college. Legal Statement. The data also showed almost 190,000 Narcan kits were handed out to hospital where opioid use is common, but there is no evidence of how many were used. Thrive has publicized some data through the mayors annual management report of all city agencies, beginning in 2016, but it encompassed only a fraction of the programs scope. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's (D) wife backed a "mental health scheme" that has now cost taxpayers $850 million. Susan Herman does the day-to-day management and makes the decisions, Ms. McCray said when asked about her role, adding that her role was to amplify ThriveNYCs message to the public., Pressed on how much of the programs budget went to the seriously mentally ill, Ms. McCray responded by questioning how that category is defined. Withoutrecords, the schemeis unable to pinpoint where the missing funding has been allocated, if at all. As a result, the program reached just 570 women who had been diagnosed with postpartum depression a sliver of the 12,000 to 15,000 McCray estimated are affected each year. Tap here to add The Western Journal to your home screen. But over the course of two years between 2016 and 2018 the hospital screened a little over 28,000 patients and just 570 were offered help, a fraction of the 12,000 to 15,000 who were estimated to need care. Thank you for contacting us. Meanwhile, the same number either closed or were merged with other schools while under the initiative. Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray cannot explain where $850million given to the mental health program she champions has gone, according to reports. The City Council discovered this shocking amount of potential waste during a meeting Wednesday. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Black Democrat DA tells the truth on crime, but progressives won't listen. Zelensky Exposed (Literally): This Is The Guy We Are Sending Billions To? Roughly 10 percent of the Thrive budget, more than $30 million in the current fiscal year, goes to address serious mental illness, according to City Hall. Of the 78,000 newborn deliveries in the city annually, only 28,560 new mothers have been screened by the Thrive program. According to the New York Post, no one seems to know what that money was utilised for after four years. Thrive also is meant to focus on communities African Americans, Latinos, military veterans who are less likely to seek care for mental health problems. Legal Statement. The site said it had tried and failed to acquire a line-item budget from Thrive, and the two budget breakdowns it had seen showed wildly different numbers. So, what are the right measures?. The biggest challenge for Mr. de Blasio and Ms.. De Blasio and 'co-mayor' wife have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer money Belkin maintains the program has been an overall success. The programs at issue ostensibly are meant to assist particularly challenged people the helpless, often homeless, mentally ill and small children whose futures are forfeited because they landed in shamefully nonfunctional schools, an experience from which they will never recover. The city has not begun tracking several programs, such as one for outreach to veterans with mental health challenges and another for trauma services for families with young children, according to the metrics. Type above and press Enter to search. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion! Did NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio's Wife "Lose" $850 MILLION of Taxpayer Money? We did not say everything would be perfect, burbled the co-mayor as if anybody outside his immediate orbit expected an outcome even close to competent. Actually, first lady Chirlane McCray works hard for free, her husband Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, and he is not happy about it. It was honorable work, it didnt cost very much and it filled up the spouses free time. She took a mental health first aid course in October 2014. Something happened that triggered the need for me to go, she said without elaborating. David Woodlock, president of the Institute for Community Living and a former top state health official, praised Ms. McCray for her courage in taking on mental health issues. Bill De Blasio's Wife Just Lost $850 Million Taxpayer Dollars In Mental Well, he didnt actually say rathole, and the price tag has doubtless been lowballed but he also had no credible explanation for the debacle, nor did he apologize for it. This story has been shared 121,909 times. Bill de Blasio's wife can't account for staggering amount of taxpayer money that the NY Mayor gave her for mental health project Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray cannot explain where $850million given to the mental health program she champions has gone, according to reports. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. Stop the censors, sign up to get today's top stories delivered right to your inbox. Thrive entered a resetting phase two years after implementation, which focused on getting programs off the ground, McCray said on the Max & Murphy podcast in March 2018. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. But also mayoral spouse Chirlane McCray, who has just been revealed as a world-class boondoggler in her own right. The City Council discovered this shocking amount of potential waste during a meeting Wednesday. It is a hard thing to measure, because its never existed before, Ms. McCray said in an interview at Gracie Mansion last month. That is, once upon a time, first spouses were content to pretend to be in charge of prettifying highways and things. He receives regular visits from a psychiatrist and a peer counselor. NYC Mayor De Blasio's wife spent $900 million in taxpayer - TheBlaze Thats because there never was any doubt what the program was about. The service also includes text and web chat. Some requested anonymity for fear of retaliation while others were more vocal in their critiques. Think Stockholm syndrome, rolled into a big ball with the United Federation of Teachers. We need all agencies involved in this issue because all agencies touch it, Belkin said. For example, 29 hospitals had agreed to screen almost 78,000 new mothers for post-natal depression each year as part of the scheme. or redistributed. If you love what we do, please consider a $1/month donation to keep us live! Only 570 of the estimated 12-15,000 mothers who experience postpartum depression have been reached by the program, Politico reported, a number NYC disputes. Those moments often involve the police, and have led to confrontations where officers have been injured, and the person the officers came to help getting physically hurt or killed. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The wife of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio "can't account for" $850 million in missing taxpayer money that was granted to her mental health project, according to reports. Other measurements seemingly have nothing to do with the mental health of New Yorkers. NO JOKE: Bill De Blasio's Wife Lost $850 Million Taxpayer Dollars In Things happen. Some have closed their doors; others have chosen to stop providing mental health services. The father asked for a psychiatrist and a social worker to be sent to the home. Bill de Blasio's Wife Can Not Explain Where The $850 Million Went If this is the highest level of care, she asked, how many success stories are there really?, Chirlane McCray, de Blasios Wife, Is Questioned Over His Revolutionary $1 Billion Mental Health Plan, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/nyregion/thrivenyc-mental-health-.html. But lets be clear: If your boondogglery sets the New York City Council back on its heels, you truly are soaring with the eagles. It is meant to target low-income individuals who are often priced out of mental health care because those services are typically not covered by insurance. But the co-mayor made performance promises when he initiated the Renewal program, few of which even remotely were met, and presently gravity prevailed: The program caved in on itself. How about the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort six years, uncountable delays and billions of dollars later? And guess what I finally found it. (She receives no pay for her city work.). And the depth issue, I dont know of many city initiatives that have so quickly touched so many New Yorkers in such a short period of time, Belkin said. Bill de Blasio attempts to defend his wife's $1.1M salary for staff Instead, the metrics list the number of individuals in state psychiatric centers 68 and individuals incarcerated 170 from Nov. 24, 2018 to Nov. 30, 2018. There is a program NYC Safe that is embedded into the criminal justice and homeless services agencies to connect high-risk individuals to outpatient treatment, according to a 2015 city announcement.