The New York State Office of Mental Health is praising stepped up efforts to help the unhoused.
Officials gathered in downtown Albany to recognize work being done by the "Safe Options Support" or "SOS" teams, whose priority is getting people into housing.
State Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan recognized the group's achievements across New York.
"Two years ago, Governor [Kathy] Hochul began to have a major initiative for mental health. And that major initiative for mental health was a billion dollars last two years ago, and then another $500 million and those dollars have supported something just like SOS teams. All those billion dollars have gone all the way from prevention to clinical services to inpatient beds, to the SOS teams, which work with a population that's often, you know, forgotten. When we walk down a street in New York state, sometimes we see homeless individuals on the street, and we all want to do something, and yet we feel kind of helpless. What can we do? But now we're doing something. We're doing something with a team like SOS that will slowly engage, slowly connect with those individuals and begin to gain their trust, to now trust the system and get the services they need," said Sullivan.
Eight SOS teams are currently canvassing areas in upstate New York. Teams walk or drive along various routes through areas where the unhoused are often seen or congregate, including Albany’s Greyhound bus station and Washington Park. Jen Doret is managing director of RSS, Rehabilitation Support Services.
"The RSS SOS team is currently working in Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga counties. Our team includes licensed clinicians, care managers and peer specialists. Together, we spearhead outreach, engagement and care coordination services to assist individuals who are experiencing homelessness, either on the street or in temporary shelter. Our goals are to help individuals find housing, to connect them with support services and providers in their community, and ultimately, to help them build life skills, to give them hope and a chance to lead productive lives. Our SOS team works with individuals who enroll in the program, and we also spend time proactively identifying and assisting individuals who are in vulnerable populations," Doret said.
Six months ago, DC Dunkel found himself cash-strapped and homeless after suffering a serious injury on a roofing job. He says encountering the SOS team turned his life around.
“I went from being homeless at DSS to recently moving into my apartment," said Dunkel. "I was injured, not able to walk. Now I'm back to work. I once had an idea to write a children's book, now it is fully published, authored, illustrated by myself, and I've just been working on the long-term goal and staying focused and trying to change my future rather than staying stuck in the present. And it helps when you have people believe in you, and all it takes is one.”
Dunkel's self-published children’s book is titled "Talking to the Moon," which he wrote for his own children while he was separated from them, incarcerated during COVID.
Additional SOS teams have been deployed in the Hudson Valley, canvasing communities in Westchester, Orange, Dutchess, Sullivan, and Ulster counties.
Since beginning operations in late January, the RSS SOS team now has more than 2,100 enrolled contacts, including nearly 350 referrals. The team has also helped 23 individuals find permanent housing.
