A large unmarked van sat outside the Albany County Health Department Monday. It was there for the rollout of a new behavioral health care program to serve the unhoused community.
Albany County Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Stephen Giordano says while the van is county property, the decision to leave it blank and its design was intentional.
"The last thing we wanted was a van that said 'Street Psychiatry Program, Albany County,'" Giordano said. "It is seasonally heated and air conditioned. There's there's comfortable seats. There's telecommunication. We could contact back to our home base, to medical providers. We could do sessions in there, but most of the time, I think we'll be driving that, parking it, and walking."
The vehicle is part of the county's Street Psychiatry pilot program. It will be used by mental health professionals to deliver mental and behavioral health care throughout the county.
According to Albany County, 17% of its unhoused population is experiencing behavioral health challenges such as mental illness or addiction. This finding comes as a report by the state comptroller found while homelessness across New York state decreased, homelessness in the Capital Region increased sharply between 2022 and 2024.
County Executive Dan McCoy says the program is one of the many ways the county is attempting to address homelessness by trying to remove barriers and increase access to mental healthcare.
"Our team will provide a non-judgmental case management addressing a wide spectrum of needs from basic food, water, and protection from the elements, harm reduction, safe housing, support counseling, linked to additional services as needed," McCoy said.
The program consists of mental health professionals, such as a psychiatric nurse, a social worker, and a substance abuse counselor.
Giordano explains one of the ways the professionals will work to address people's needs is by first building trust. He says trust is a key first step.
"That's one of the most insidious things about some severe mental illnesses: is that one of the symptoms is they don't believe they have a mental illness," Giordano said. "So that's where the trust comes in: a bottle of water, a sandwich. Maybe they'll like us more than tomorrow than they did yesterday. And the goal is to try to get them care that replicates what we can do here."
The program, which is funded in part through the county, is also receiving an additional $250,000 from the city of Albany.
Mayor Dorcey Applyrs says it was important to invest in it because homelessness is one of her constituents' largest concerns.
"It is the issue, and I consistently hear from our residents and business owners and visitors about the need to address the trifecta: our unhoused situation, substance use, and mental health," Applyrs said. "It comes up all the time. It is the issue."
Giordano says the program aims to address these issues by treating unhoused people going through a mental health crisis in a humane and dignified way.
"I think we have to convince the community that we live in that these people are not other; they are our friends and family and coworkers and mothers and brothers and and you know it's easy to talk about them when we think they're not us, and they're us."
