Council presses DOH on mobile treatment, clubhouse funding and thousands of vacant supportive‑housing units

Council members used the June 3 hearings to press DOH on the mental‑health portfolio. Lawmakers welcomed baseline funding in the executive plan that stabilizes previously temporary funding for intensive mobile treatment (IMT), assisted outpatient treatment (AOT/ACT) and clubhouses, but pressed DOH to explain how the agency would clear wait lists and sustain services over time.

DOH officials said the executive plan baselines funding for IMT and ACT and provides long‑term support for clubhouses (approximately $38.7M baseline for the DOH‑funded clubhouse portfolio). However, council members emphasized that wait lists remain: DOH reported roughly 600 people waiting for IMT and several hundred waiting for ACT teams, and asked how step‑down resources and flexible ACT teams can be used to reduce waits.

The hearing turned sharply to supportive housing. Council members cited recent internal reports showing 100–500 units under DOH oversight that were either offline or had no referral in process. DOH described common reasons: units awaiting repairs or sealed following prior tenants’ deaths, and said it is part of an inter‑agency working group (DOH, HPD, DSS) to reduce paperwork and speed unit turnaround. DOH and council staff agreed to follow up with more granular vacancy and repair‑cost data.

DOH also highlighted additional investments: $12M in opioid‑settlement funding for peer workforce development (to support internships, scholarships and 500 new peer jobs over several years), and a permanent baseline for the syringe‑redemption pilot (a program that paid participants for safe syringe disposal and collected 1.7M syringes in its first year).

Why it matters: The city’s ability to treat people with serious mental illness outside hospitals depends on mobile teams, clubhouse services and rapid placement into supportive housing. Council members warned that funding cliffs and vacancy delays undermine that continuity.

What’s next: DOH promised more data on wait‑list counts, contract renegotiation targets and a follow‑up on the supportive‑housing vacancy causes and a cost estimate for repairs to return offline units to service.