Hamilton Stresses Cross Government Cooperation On Mental Health
Central Brooklyn State Senator Jesse Hamilton yesterday called for more cross government cooperation to achieve the aim of more positive mental health for all New Yorkers.
Appearing before the City Council’s Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Disability Services, Hamilton highlighted legislation he recently introduced with Assemblyman Marcos Crespo in Albany requiring mental health first aid as part of teachers’ professional development.
“Given the amount of time our young people spend in the classroom and the classroom’s later impacts on adulthood, educators represent a critical link in promoting mental well-being,” said Hamilton, the ranking member on the Senate’s Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. I
“According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the third leading cause of death for children age 10-14 and the second leading cause of death for ages 15-24 and suicide continues as the second leading cause of death for ages 25-34. In the past two decades, we have seen a doubling of the suicide rate among African American children. And among Hispanic students, grades 9-12, the numbers for seriously considering attempting suicide (18.9%), having made a plan about how they would attempt suicide (15.7%), attempting suicide (11.3%), and having made an attempt that requires medical attention (4.1%) were consistently higher than other students,” Hamilton said in his testimony.
“Successful public health outcomes depend on a holistic approach – addressing mental health is a critical part of that approach. Mobilizing educators, community leaders, and the public is a crucial part of the concerted effort we must make to improve mental health in New York. I look forward to continuing to work with you in partnership to raise awareness, diminish the stigma, and improve the mental health of all New Yorkers.”
Mosley Promotes Program Helping Those With College Debt
Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley (Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect heights, Crown Heights) yesterday encouraged recent graduates saddled with college debt to look into the Get On Your Feet program.
The Get On Your Feet Loan Forgiveness Program goes hand in hand with other efforts to reduce the burden of student debt for young people. For example, the New York State Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Incentive Program offers full-tuition scholarships to students who study in certain STEM fields at SUNY or CUNY schools and work in the state after graduation. But while the STEM Incentive Program targets new college students, the Get On Your Feet program provides assistance for recent graduates, regardless of major.
Students who graduated both high school and college in New York State and received an undergraduate degree in or after the 2014-15 academic year and have lived in the state for 12 continuous months may be eligible to have up to two years of federal student loan payments forgiven. To be considered for the program, applicants also have to be enrolled in either an income-based or pay-as-you-earn repayment program and have an adjusted gross income of less than $50,000.
“While earning a four-year college degree is a wise decision in the long term, student loan payments can be daunting, especially for recent graduates who are still searching for a good job and building a financial foundation. New York State’s Get On Your Feet Loan Forgiveness Program, which is now accepting applications, can help ease that early financial stress,” said Mosley.
Applications for the Get On Your Feet program are now being accepted. For further information visit hesc.ny.gov or call 1-888-697-4372. Constituents and/or college students with questions about the program or anything else are also encouraged to call Mosley’s office at 718-596-0100 or email him directly at mosleyw@assembly.state.ny.us.
Schumer Takes Leading Role For Puerto Rican Financial Restructuring
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, along with the entire Democratic caucus in the Senate, wrote to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urging bipartisan legislative action that would give Puerto Rico access to financial restructuring tools to help address its dire fiscal crisis – at no cost to the taxpayer.
Puerto Rico is currently facing dire economic challenges that are placing immediate and growing hardships on the island’s 3.5 million U.S.-citizen residents.
“The legislation we seek to pass will provide Puerto Rico the authority it needs to restructure its outstanding debt without costing taxpayers one plugged nickel. But if our Republican colleagues in Congress fail to act, the costs will be sky-high. We have a basic responsibility to aid all American citizens in times of crisis, and that’s why it’s so important for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to work with Senate Democrats to pass a bipartisan piece of legislation that includes the ability to restructure the debt and fix the dire economic crisis affecting the 3.5 million American citizens in Puerto Rico,” said Schumer. “We need to be concerned with these issues not only because Puerto Ricans are part of the American family and deserve the quality of life that we all expect, but also because our failure to act now could result in a Puerto Rican financial crisis that becomes a drag on our entire economy.”
Schumer noted there are 5.2 million Puerto Ricans living in the United States, including over 1 million in New York State. As the economic situation in Puerto Rico continues to deteriorate, residents will continue to flee their homeland leaving behind those that do not have the resources or ability to move, and this has the real potential to lead to a serious humanitarian crisis if nothing is done, he said.
Nadler, Jeffries Ask For Clarification On Sentencing Reform Act
Western Brooklyn Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Central Brooklyn Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, along with Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-2) yesterday sent a letter to Patti Saris, Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, requesting a complete analysis of all provisions in the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015.
The letter asks for the Sentencing Commission to undertake this review in order to better assess how any changes will affect the overall prison population and contribute to the needed reform of America’s criminal justice system.
“As the bill moves forward in the process, we want more information so that we can make sure that we do not unintentionally incarcerate more people, rather than fewer, in our reform effort,” said the lawmakers in a joint statement. “Mistaken policies of the past have led to mass incarceration, which has disproportionately affected communities of color. We want to make sure we get it right this time, and we are asking for more detailed information to ensure that we do.”
Bratton Praises Velázquez On Anti-Gun Bill
New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton recently praised Northern and Central Brooklyn Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez for a bill she introduced that would use technology to better track weapons.
“Our department recognizes that data is a valuable asset in our battle against violence, and we attempt to leverage it as part of our overall strategy to reduce gun crimes. To this end, legislation such as Congresswoman Velázquez’s that has as one of its goals the creation of a registry for lost and stolen firearms and the development of electronic tracking capabilities for firearms may have an investigatory benefit,” wrote Bratton in a letter to Velazquez’s office.
Across the U.S., almost 600,000 guns are stolen each year from private homes. New York streets are often a destination for guns lost or stolen in states with more permissive gun laws, a trend criminal experts have referred to as the “Iron Pipeline.” Accordingly, Velázquez’s bill would strengthen federal reporting requirements for stolen or lost guns, establish a national registry for missing firearms and utilize technology so that the origin of recovered weapons can be identified, assisting law enforcement.
“Part of my bill is aimed at assisting law enforcement in determining the origin of weapons used in crimes on New York streets, so many of which flow into our City through the so-called ‘Iron Pipeline’,” said Velázquez. “I’m pleased Commissioner Bratton sees the value in this legislation and hope to continue building support for these commonsense proposals.”
Levin, Reynoso Take Note Of Early Childhood Study
City Council Members Stephen Levin (Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Boerum Hill) and Antonio Reynoso (Williamsburg, Bushwick) yesterday lauded the results of a study examining the behavioral benefits of programs that teach parents to engage in reading and play with their infants during the critical developmental stage of early childhood.
The study, conducted by the New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital, found that programs encouraging reading and play during infancy and early childhood can yield significant and lasting benefits in attention skills and help prevent behavioral problems associated with growing up in poverty, like hyperactivity and aggression, before they arise.
The program studied, the Video Interaction Project, is a partner organization of City’s First Readers, an initiative of the New York City Council that fosters early childhood literacy development among children ages 0-5. The study was published online in the journal Pediatrics on January 27.
“Early childhood is a critical developmental period for children,” said Levin, chair of the Council’s General Welfare Committee. “This study demonstrates how essential the early literacy development programs that the City’s First Readers Initiative supports are to improving our children’s ability to learn, play, and grow. These programs are especially important for children overcoming the challenges of growing up in poverty and the parents striving to give them every chance to succeed.
Reynoso noted that 70 percent of New York City third graders are not reading at grade level.
“This study highlights the fact that in order to change this, we have to take proactive steps to ensure that our children are reading and being read to from an early age,” Reynoso said. “The Video Interaction Project and other programs in the City’s First Readers initiative focus on helping the youngest children in our low-income communities and their families to take early steps that can make a major difference later in life.”
