[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6463662,"mediaKeyId","5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41","parentId",5785184,"title","Providers: language access and workforce shortages block immigrant mental‑health care","audioSeconds",362,"startMs",7068000,"endMs",7430000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41&start=7068&end=7430","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41/thumbnail_7068000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6463662/New-York/Providers-language-access-and-workforce-shortages-block-immigrant-mentalhealth-care","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6463662-5340439ab5e90f36ef005d4bc24b15f0/orig.mp4?Expires=1776228166&Signature=Yl95MW06jamIK2bXzVJ0-Fx0OkgL-CrhaDXk-VyXmn11T09ESJ~FraVlRPPUAgz5NRN6MfRwu4tp8rxJ2eTdjk3gFwpLRvmTqu5DP-HGrMRZv5n3~GUQhA35RmW6gCbzM-T1wcAgPdrvN6NCXLMbD-ltld8VYyJSctj6pkhNUAACgEfCJMlPlowiSC0I0wJ51iIj4pmS92pLZoOPjWrBbKYd6d7WKt5wgHRhGsRkpCGJpM3jJd6ZRDGFLL1kJ-QDsFZrZhfeMHvBx0mftm0xoy~nEaCLeKkEWZZWrg1eOzzyfAj93Ru3oUwkZiEoMCW6THT906sVWQUOZKi5ccUbCA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of New York, NY","date","2025-09-17T04:40:59.797Z","article","Community‑based providers that deliver bilingual and culturally tailored mental‑health services urged the City Council to expand funding and workforce development for linguistically competent care, saying long waits, scarce interpreters for indigenous languages and overloaded staff are preventing many immigrants from accessing help.

‘‘Without language justice, there’s no social justice,’’ said Araceli Susero of RASA, describing cases in which indigenous‑language speakers lost housing or missed deadlines while navigating immigration processes and court paperwork. Providers called for sustained city investment in interpretation services, culturally specific clinical hiring, and training programs that help skilled immigrants and bilingual staff obtain licensure and supervisory roles.

Why it matters: Witnesses described scalable, community‑based models — healing circles, support groups, school‑based counseling, and non‑clinical peer supports — that CBOs already provide but said these programs are underfunded and have long wait lists. Mixteca reported delivering nearly 4,000 mental‑health services in 2024 with a small staff and persistent wait lists; AfroLingual and African Communities Together described plans to expand interpretation capacity for West African and other languages through training and cooperative models.

Providers recommended short‑term and structural actions: clinic and hospital partnerships to provide no‑cost interpretation for recent arrivals; city funding to expand cooperatives that train trauma‑informed interpreters; fee assistance for youth applying for post‑court immigration relief; and dedicated city grants for CBOs to hire licensed mental‑health staff and build multilingual telehealth capacity.

Ending note: Providers said mixed strategies — immediate funding for interpreters and crisis clinicians plus long‑term investments in licensure pathways and workforce retention — are needed to prevent worsening mental‑health outcomes and to ensure city programs reach immigrant communities in their languages and cultural contexts.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","🔴 LIVE: Oversight: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Immigrants in NYC","oneSentenceSummary","Community organizations said they are delivering culturally specific care but are overwhelmed; they asked the council to fund interpretation cooperatives, recruit multilingual clinicians, and expand community‑based, nonclinical healing options.","taxTitle","New York City Council, New York City, New York County, New York","taxId",77593,"location","New York","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6463667,"Legal and social‑service providers urge oversight of detention and more mental‑health support for detained immigrants and unaccompanied youth",1140,5200000,6340000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41&start=5200&end=6340","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41/thumbnail_5200000.jpg","/articles/6463667/New-York/Legal-and-socialservice-providers-urge-oversight-of-detention-and-more-mentalhealth-support-for-detained-immigrants-and-unaccompanied-youth","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6463667-9e5839f2665d6ee31b39e6c5286f34c9/orig.mp4?Expires=1776228166&Signature=UOGhfynqtIQw0nB~sHp8NqUvTE~eulg0eEp8Zk3AGUh4Dkzdnp1h3NtZQRtPiJxy8Jd3nrENU~AVYvGpamSbrPw6ojYhSakG~423~pZpDcZpsI6q2LoworlEM1UjAz5K~Y7fqdO~iZl1Jfa3q1z4Cc5Z~USAl3ABzdtScX1mHb-C6EYhgAX~K88w7Wg7N-aNXnOC~BtjGF5Z-fsxH17nrLrTZvbxeAClEGWdzpCEKLGgZ3cDB-1WAVTlMDNKWpgmCcvBfBhtKRIZkGM3XUkjpIa-dt4fXJi0LNCkF~~r3dqPAWr1ynKG19dicBMAOLrISHMKPE0R43THBSNeaEth7A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Legal advocates and providers told the City Council oversight hearing that people detained in immigration facilities are frequently denied timely medical and psychiatric care and that prolonged uncertainty in removal proceedings is worsening mental‑health needs among asylum seekers and unaccompanied children.

‘‘We reviewed the records of 19 people and saw the same pattern: delays in follow‑up care, denials of medication, mismanaged chronic illnesses, and inadequate psychiatric treatment,’’ said Navin Solmaim of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, citing an upcoming report focused on detention facilities where many New Yorkers are held after transfers.

Why it matters: Witnesses said detention conditions, long waiting lists for community mental‑health care and barriers to language‑appropriate clinical services are compounding trauma for immigrants, especially for unaccompanied minors. Sierra Craft of ICARE described a case in which a 16‑year‑old in inpatient psychiatric care missed a deportation‑related hearing because the caregiver was too afraid to enter the immigration courthouse in view of federal agents; the child was later ordered removed.

Providers urged the council to increase city oversight of detention transfer practices, fund trauma‑informed youth‑specific mental‑health services (including indigenous language access), and expand no‑cost clinical care so that asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors can receive timely treatment and legal‑case support. Several legal providers said that mental‑health care is essential to clients’ ability to participate effectively in immigration proceedings and that long waits and capacity shortfalls are common: a legal program reported 83 pro se immigration intakes in a month, with nearly all clients also needing mental‑health services.

Advocates recommended policy and program steps: strengthen monitoring of conditions at facilities receiving New Yorkers; expand mental‑health referrals tied to court proceedings; make proactive accommodations for clients in clinical crisis; increase indigenous‑language clinical capacity; and ensure that special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) and other post‑court immigration steps are accompanied by case management and fee assistance so youth can complete federal applications.

Ending note: Agencies at the hearing promised to follow up on detention oversight questions and to provide additional data; advocates said the council should pair funding for legal representation with investments in clinical capacity and language access to meet urgent need.","Providers described medical neglect, inadequate psychiatric care in detention and long waits for community mental‑health services; they urged the council to expand oversight, fund immigrant‑centered clinical services and strengthen legal representation for children and adults in removal proceedings.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6463672,"Advocates urge redirecting school‑policing funds to multilingual mental‑health services for immigrant students",140,3960000,4100000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41&start=3960&end=4100","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41/thumbnail_3960000.jpg","/articles/6463672/New-York/Advocates-urge-redirecting-schoolpolicing-funds-to-multilingual-mentalhealth-services-for-immigrant-students","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6463672-6729acd4da7ceb7b1a8dc6fdbf663aef/orig.mp4?Expires=1776228166&Signature=CLhQ2gsMaLCsb3MQ0jz1ccAJWJ9GU7AmM13BYGxDOaXJ-EhUX1VW3teeKq670tY3PVjm9YpI3YIrKzG6ZvLAIfuC4cn5gjYXR3Et3agNgqbCHvZ4W-YtdH4C~YeWFsxePKAhLTdI4p6EAE2vG4LKJxUJSXyg2dP1bAf-TGHGv2dy9Cthrr7dG3DL~9nj8jr8zqrj-2e02QM6s6fACWkfJcr5lcVd2utYvxE7tLflHPwBK~hMBmX2WPOxTL0PLWyzo0nZbChSJa41ijhuz1A3pZ83CUoR~A2R06HS-moR8dja9cjm5~~75SDcaIjzZIC8bJx6CTLoaBhBBl89u3hoXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Advocates for students and restorative justice groups urged the New York City Council on Tuesday to expand multilingual, school‑based mental‑health services for immigrant children and to shift funding away from school policing and surveillance tools that they say fuel fear and deportation risks.

‘‘Immigrant students deserve safe schools and healing, not fear,’’ said Andrea Ortiz of Dignity in Schools Campaign New York, who testified that the city must ‘‘redirect funding from school policing and surveillance into mental health access and healing center programs for immigrant students.’’

Why it matters: Providers, school staff and youth leaders said that federal immigration enforcement and local information‑sharing practices — including NYPD school‑safety officers’ ability to add names to the city gang database — are producing chronic fear among students and families and discouraging use of school and health services. Speakers described students who ‘‘wonder if their parents will be at the end of the day’’ and said that trauma‑informed school supports are urgently needed.

Speakers at the hearing described concrete gaps: multilingual clinicians are scarce, many school mental‑health programs face long waits, and some students attend shelters without reliable internet or consistent school placement. Martin Urbach, founder of Circle Keepers and a former school dean, described students ‘‘afraid to come to school because they worry their parents will be snatched by masked men.’’

Several witnesses asked the council to invest in a mental‑health workforce pipeline, expand the city’s ‘‘mental health continuum’’ and restorative justice programs, and end the NYPD gang database, which Dignity in Schools said contains tens of thousands of names and disproportionately lists Black and Hispanic young people. The witnesses urged funds currently used for school policing be redirected to bilingual, culturally responsive clinicians and trauma‑informed school programming.

Education advocates also pushed for stronger oversight to ensure that on‑site school clinicians are actually delivering services and that families are aware of and can access help without fear. Council members asked agencies how they monitor school‑based mental‑health providers and whether additional social workers or supports have been funded; DOHMH and MOIA representatives deferred some specifics to the Department of Education and H+H.

Ending note: Student leaders and school advocates said investments are urgent and practicable — ranging from hiring more bilingual clinicians to expanding community‑based restorative programs — and urged the council to pair funding with accountability measures so services reach students in need.","Student advocates and nonprofits told the council that immigrant students are experiencing trauma from federal enforcement and local information‑sharing practices; they called for expanded bilingual school mental‑health services and an end to the NYPD gang database.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6463676,"City officials outline immigrant mental‑health programs as advocates warn services are underfunded",486,234000,720000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41&start=234&end=720","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5785184-7e4dc2f5c7d130747fdd087ea4caaf41/thumbnail_234000.jpg","/articles/6463676/New-York/City-officials-outline-immigrant-mentalhealth-programs-as-advocates-warn-services-are-underfunded","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6463676-cb2597743c4468f07ee7adc5c6b458db/orig.mp4?Expires=1776228166&Signature=IIQkQN0xfDOW4ojnKJwszqt3UQp4VDSQ4GdqdeembF8JxSPGGX0JRI8lwnsIz8ksnDsdsUZ2YoZe95kwtMj8LzcJEI1ofMFFclNaGFKT8E~nITj2THIh1Z~7fZfn9t9c6Or3fpE3YTViSxSaD60bqOvT4FRNAPIf4kIQ2c7DpoYw4JoWfXu3Bw2~BrbI9byTY7EylgDrP3nBsomoLVqavU0O6qCsEgDvO56yQtEA0esAeFoUNXwVue7vwMXuiRw1mD0qjDajM-zLG6TUoyEYNSJTrpIMLV5yHUVwWVhNrzcKBNE~3CBqV62Ig5V6G7dcXzjSwB1STz54mLNwtiqEQA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City officials told a New York City Council oversight hearing that the mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) are expanding outreach, legal aid partnerships and language access to address immigrant New Yorkers’ mental‑health needs, while advocates and council members said services remain underfunded and difficult to access.

MOIA senior advisor Kenneth Lo told the Committee on Immigration that the office focuses on three responses: ‘‘elevate timely and accurate messages to immigrant communities,’’ expand legal‑service access, and ‘‘coordinate amongst interagency partners to provide the services that meet the mental health needs of immigrant New Yorkers.’’ He said MOIA outreach this year reached ‘‘over 25,000 immigrant New Yorkers’’ and that MOIA has launched ‘‘38 MOIA legal support centers’’ offering screenings, application assistance and representation.

The testimony came during a September oversight hearing convened by Chair Avilas, who criticized administration attendance and pressed agencies on concrete results. ‘‘This Administration seems not to prioritize, hearings across the board,’’ Avilas said, noting frustration that some agency leaders were not present.

Why it matters: Council members and dozens of nonprofit speakers told the committee that growing federal enforcement and hostile rhetoric are deepening fear and trauma in immigrant communities, compounding pre‑existing barriers such as language, stigma and gaps in insurance coverage. Advocates said that without greater investment in culturally and linguistically competent providers, expanding legal representation alone will not make care accessible.

DOHMH Executive Director Nisha Agarwal described city mental‑health services and crisis lines and emphasized access protections: ‘‘For us, healthcare, including mental healthcare, is a right, not a privilege.’’ She highlighted NYC 988 — the nationwide behavioral‑health crisis line — and said text/phone/chat support includes Spanish and interpretation for more than 200 languages. Agarwal also described upcoming work, including an immigrant mental‑health convening MOIA and DOHMH plan for Sept. 23 to surface gaps and coordinate responses.

Advocates at the hearing said that many immigrant New Yorkers do not use existing city programs because of fear of enforcement, language limits or long waits. Legal and social‑service providers described long intake lists and limited capacity. Navin Solmaim of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest said his organization’s review of records for people detained in some facilities found ‘‘delays in follow‑up care, denials of medication, mismanaged chronic illnesses, and inadequate psychiatric treatment.’’

Officials acknowledged limits and promised follow up. DOHMH said it will provide aggregate data on 988 usage and language access and flagged an upcoming report under Local Law 158 (2023) on trauma‑informed care for refugees and migrants. MOIA said it will share details of its AskMOIA hotline volumes and the list of amicus briefs and national coordination activities the city has participated in.

Community groups pressed for concrete steps: more multilingual, culturally competent clinical staff placed where immigrants live, stronger school‑based mental health, trauma‑informed school programming and continued funding for legal representation. Several speakers urged redirecting funds from school policing and surveillance into mental‑health services for students, and numerous nonprofits requested dedicated city funds to sustain bilingual clinicians and interpretation services.

The hearing record shows a clear tension between city agencies’ outreach and coordination efforts and providers’ reports of capacity shortfalls, long wait lists, and access barriers. Council members asked agencies for follow‑up data and for written lists of amicus briefs, program budgets and language‑access expenditures to inform next steps.

Ending note: Agencies pledged follow‑up on several items, including 988 aggregate usage data, DOHMH language‑services expenditures and MOIA contract details for legal support centers; advocates said those deliverables will be a necessary basis for any budget or program increases the council may consider.","Officials from the mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene described outreach, legal‑service networks and language‑access work while council members and community groups said funding, staffing and access remain insufficient to meet rising demand.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Providers: language access and workforce shortages block immigrant mental‑health care

Legal and social‑service providers urge oversight of detention and more mental‑health support for detained immigrants and unaccompanied youth

Advocates urge redirecting school‑policing funds to multilingual mental‑health services for immigrant students

City officials outline immigrant mental‑health programs as advocates warn services are underfunded