"Mayor's Mental Health Outreach Tactic Under Fire"
A plan by Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to replace NYPD officers with "transit ambassadors" for homeless outreach has sparked controversy, with advocates questioning the safety of such an approach. The current system, known as the Partnership Assistance for Transit Homelessness (PATH) program, relies on a team of police officers and medical professionals working together to identify and assist individuals in need.
The PATH teams have made significant progress since their launch last year, removing over 600 people with mental illness from the subways and connecting them with vital services. However, critics argue that the involvement of NYPD officers undermines the efforts of outreach workers, who struggle to build trust with vulnerable populations.
"It's impossible to do this alone," said Richard Perkins, a registered nurse on one of the PATH teams, who has been working on the initiative for 14 years. "You're going to get hurt."
Under Mamdani's plan, the transit ambassadors would provide assistance and information to riders, while also addressing emergency situations. However, critics warn that this approach may not be effective in preventing violent incidents or connecting people with necessary services.
"Without police, it just becomes the kind of street outreach we've been doing for decades with not a huge amount of effectiveness," said Brian Stettin, a former governor's adviser on mental illness who helped develop the original PATH program.
Stettin argues that the ideal approach is to bring together the best elements of both systems – crisis response and community outreach. The PATH program has already gained international attention for its innovative approach to addressing street homelessness, with officials from other cities expressing interest in replicating the model.
The fate of the PATH program hangs in the balance as Mamdani's campaign gains momentum. If he wins, it will be restructured under his plan – a move that could significantly impact public safety and access to vital services for New Yorkers struggling with mental illness and homelessness.
A plan by Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to replace NYPD officers with "transit ambassadors" for homeless outreach has sparked controversy, with advocates questioning the safety of such an approach. The current system, known as the Partnership Assistance for Transit Homelessness (PATH) program, relies on a team of police officers and medical professionals working together to identify and assist individuals in need.
The PATH teams have made significant progress since their launch last year, removing over 600 people with mental illness from the subways and connecting them with vital services. However, critics argue that the involvement of NYPD officers undermines the efforts of outreach workers, who struggle to build trust with vulnerable populations.
"It's impossible to do this alone," said Richard Perkins, a registered nurse on one of the PATH teams, who has been working on the initiative for 14 years. "You're going to get hurt."
Under Mamdani's plan, the transit ambassadors would provide assistance and information to riders, while also addressing emergency situations. However, critics warn that this approach may not be effective in preventing violent incidents or connecting people with necessary services.
"Without police, it just becomes the kind of street outreach we've been doing for decades with not a huge amount of effectiveness," said Brian Stettin, a former governor's adviser on mental illness who helped develop the original PATH program.
Stettin argues that the ideal approach is to bring together the best elements of both systems – crisis response and community outreach. The PATH program has already gained international attention for its innovative approach to addressing street homelessness, with officials from other cities expressing interest in replicating the model.
The fate of the PATH program hangs in the balance as Mamdani's campaign gains momentum. If he wins, it will be restructured under his plan – a move that could significantly impact public safety and access to vital services for New Yorkers struggling with mental illness and homelessness.
Transit ambassadors might be able to connect people with services, but without police presence, you're basically asking them to walk into a wolf's den. I mean, we've seen this before - just because something is non-violent on the surface doesn't mean it's not gonna get ugly quickly. And what about the people who are scared of cops? They'll be even more hesitant to accept help from these ambassadors 
We need a balance here, not a binary approach that's either "police only" or "no police". Can't we do better than this? 
I think this is just another case of politicians trying to fix things without really understanding the issue. Replacing NYPD officers with "transit ambassadors" might seem like a nice idea, but it's not that simple. The PATH program has already shown that when you bring together people from different backgrounds and expertise, amazing things can happen.
... plus, it's always scary to hear that things might not work as planned 
... just a thought 
. And with the current system already showing results – over 600 people helped last year? That's something to build on, not tear apart. Maybe Mamdani's team should've had a chat with Stettin before coming up with this plan... collaboration over competition is key here. The question is, can they find common ground and make the PATH program even better for everyone involved? 
. It's like, what if someone gets hurt or taken advantage of while we're trying to help them? We need to make sure that our efforts are supporting people, not putting them in harm's way 
. Maybe instead of replacing cops with transit ambassadors, we could find a way to integrate both systems in a way that works for everyone? That would be a win-win, imo 
Mamdani's idea of having transit ambassadors over cops is actually kinda genius 
According to NYC data from last yr, there were over 2k reported incidents in subway stations. If even half are related to mental illness, that's a significant number 
But for every success story like PATH, we got critics whining about "no effectivity" 
What I think is needed is more innovation, not just rehashing the same old ideas 
By the way, did u know that NYC's homeless population has increased by 15% since 2020? 
We need to adapt or else we'll be stuck in this cycle of neglect.
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... but on the other hand, you gotta wonder if transit ambassadors alone can keep everyone safe 
... what do they need more? More funding? More training? Or is it just a case of not having enough resources to begin with 
... anyhoo, I think we need to keep an open mind and see how this all plays out 
. Perhaps a hybrid approach could be explored, combining the best elements of crisis response and community outreach? It's possible that Mamdani's plan is not necessarily a zero-sum game, where one approach must replace the other entirely 
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It's a tough balance to strike. I think Stettin has a point, maybe we should combine the best of both worlds instead of cutting out one part entirely 
. i mean, if the PATH program has been working and getting results, why change it now? seems like mamdani's just trying to score some points with his campaign 
... I mean, have you ever noticed how some people's faces just light up when they talk about their grandkids? Like, it's this whole other level of happiness 
. Just a thought...
Maybe instead of an all-or-nothing approach, we could try blending different models together? Like, use the PATH teams for general outreach and info-distribution, but then have special crisis-response teams with NYPD officers to handle super-emergency situations 
I mean, can you imagine trying to deal with crazy situations on the subway without any trained police officers around? It's a recipe for disaster! 