Administration announces 150-percent funding increase for B-HEARD mental health response teams across all 78 precincts
Mamdani Administration Rapidly Expands Mental Health Crisis Response Infrastructure
The Mamdani administration has announced a 150 percent increase in funding for the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division program, commonly known as B-HEARD, which deploys trained mental health professionals to respond to 911 calls involving psychiatric crises, homelessness, and substance use issues. The expansion accelerates plans to extend the program to all 78 police precincts citywide from its current limited deployment in 31 precincts, with annual funding increasing from $35 million to approximately $87 million across the three-year budget commitment. The accelerated investment reflects Mamdani’s prioritization of non-police crisis response following high-profile cases like the Jabez Chakraborty shooting, which the mayor has characterized as a symptom of systemic failure to deploy appropriate mental health resources.
B-HEARD Model and Crisis Response Integration
The B-HEARD model pairs mental health clinicians with paramedics rather than police officers when responding to calls involving psychiatric emergencies, substance use, and homelessness. Teams carry crisis de-escalation training, knowledge of mental health conditions, and authority to transport individuals to psychiatric treatment facilities or safe spaces rather than jails. Research on B-HEARD implementation in the 31 currently-served precincts shows that approximately 3,000 calls monthly are handled by B-HEARD rather than police, reducing police involvement in mental health crises by nearly 40 percent in those neighborhoods. Calls handled by B-HEARD result in dramatically lower rates of arrest or injury to service users compared to police response.
Addressing the Dispatch Problem and Service Expansion
A persistent barrier to B-HEARD effectiveness has been 911 dispatcher routing. Despite B-HEARD availability in 31 precincts, dispatchers continue routing the vast majority of mental health calls to police rather than clinical teams. The administration has instructed the FDNY and NYPD to implement protocols requiring automatic B-HEARD response for calls flagged as mental health, substance use, or homelessness related in neighborhoods where the program operates. The expansion to all 78 precincts and funding increase should allow B-HEARD to handle approximately 10,000 monthly calls citywide once fully implemented. Additional staffing increases include peer counselors with lived experience of mental illness or substance use disorder, reflecting evidence that peer support improves treatment engagement and crisis resolution.
Integration with Broader Mental Health Transformation
The B-HEARD expansion is one component of the proposed Department of Community Safety, which would establish mental health-focused crisis response as the default option for non-emergency calls. The department would employ social workers, counselors, paramedics, and peer specialists rather than armed officers. The administration envisions B-HEARD as an interim structure while longer-term institutional transformation proceeds, ultimately eliminating police involvement in most mental health crises entirely. Maggie Mortali, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness New York City, characterized the expansion as essential to preventing tragedies. “Crisis response requires that mental health professionals, not police, take the lead,” she said. For mental health crisis resources visit NYC B-HEARD Program. Mental health information at National Alliance Mental Illness. Crisis intervention training from Crisis Text Line. Public health advocacy at UCSF Mental Health.
