New York's health crisis response system is broken. Having a mental health emergency is not a crime and should not be treated like one. Families and individuals in crisis need help, not handcuffs! The time to transform our mental health crisis response system is now! Daniel's Law (S.2398/A.2210) is an essential step in New York’s new crisis continuum, along with the new 988 crisis line, stabilization centers, respite centers, and more. We’re at a historical time with the implementation of 988. Through the passage of 988 we’ve already agreed that we need an alternative to 911 and police responses for people in crisis. We hope we can count on you to vote YES on moving Daniel’s Law out of committee, with $10M in funding in this session's budget, so we can pass legislation that: 1. Treats a mental health crisis as a public health issue, not a public safety threat. 2. Uses response plans based on community-informed care and de-escalating crisis. 3. Provides mobile crisis response teams including people with lived experience (peers) and EMT’s that must respond without law enforcement accompaniment unless someone is in imminent danger. March 23, 2023 was the 3-year anniversary of Daniel Prude's killing while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Please honor the memory of Daniel Prude by passing this legislation through committee. Daniel deserved care, dignity, and support. We must prevent more unnecessary and tragic deaths at the hands of police, especially for our Black and brown community members. To make that vision a reality, we can start by passing Daniel’s Law. It’s time to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to life-saving mental health resources and responses grounded in care and compassion. Thank you.

The health crisis response system in New York is broken. Having a mental health emergency is not a crime and should not be treated like one. The time to transform our mental health crisis response system is now! Families and individuals in crisis need help, not handcuffs. We’re at a historical time with the implementation of 988. And Daniel's Law (S.2398/A.2210) is an essential next step in New York’s new crisis continuum, along with the new 988 crisis line, stabilization centers, respite centers, and more. Through the passage of 988 we’ve already agreed that we need an alternative to 911 and police responses for people in crisis. We hope we can count on you to support Daniel’s Law and the funding it requires, so we can pass legislation that: 1. Treats a mental health crisis as a public health issue, not a public safety threat. 2. Uses response plans based on community-informed care and de-escalating crisis. 3. Provides mobile crisis response teams including peers with lived experience and EMT’s who must respond without law enforcement accompaniment unless someone is in imminent danger. March 2023 will be the 3 year anniversary of Daniel Prude's killing while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. I ask that you honor the memory of Daniel Prude by favorably passing this legislation. Daniel deserved care, dignity, and support. We must prevent more unnecessary and tragic deaths at the hands of police, especially for our Black and brown community members. To make that vision a reality, we can start by passing Daniel’s Law. It’s time to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to life-saving mental health resources and responses grounded in care and empathy. Thank you.