(Some are repeat callers, with a few who call as many as 200 times a day.). Well, he didnt actually say rathole, and the price tag has doubtless been lowballed but he also had no credible explanation for the debacle, nor did he apologize for it. From The Daily Mail (published in early March): We did not say everything would be perfect, burbled the co-mayor as if anybody outside his immediate orbit expected an outcome even close to competent. Weve actually built the first rational approach to the real scope and breadth of the need. The man, Benedy Abreu, 31, served five years in prison and is now in a program funded through Thrive to help those with serious mental illness and a criminal past. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Alex Murdaugh unanimously found GUILTY of murder of wife and son, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race. Right up there with co-Mayor Bill, who started the week on his own sour note announcing that his signature Renewal school program was closing up shop after pounding $773 million down a rathole. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post. It promotes that misconception that too many people have, that people who have mental illness or people suffering from substance use disorders are violent, which is not true, she said at a health care conference. Chirlane McCray, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, was entrusted in 2015 with running a new initiative in the city called ThriveNYC, a program that attempted to address issues of homelessness, substance use, depression and suicide, all centered around mental health and with a price tag of $250 million per year in tax payer dollars. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. McCray is the proprietress of ThriveNYC, a mental-health-related something-or-other created four-plus years ago to give a little heft to the conceit that Bill and Chirlane were elected as co-mayors which is nonsense on stilts. The City Council discovered this shocking amount of potential waste . Think Stockholm syndrome, rolled into a big ball with the United Federation of Teachers. Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? Stop the censors, sign up to get today's top stories delivered right to your inbox. . (Hes kind of busy, she said.). Two budget breakdowns acquired by POLITICO one from City Hall and one from the Independent Budget Office show significant differences in spending. We invite you to become a WeLoveTrump insider. Before the Thrive initiative, he said, there was not even a pretense of a mental health system in the city.. The New York Post ran a story on speculation that McCray was being groomed for political office. However, according to current and former employees in the Mayors office -- and public records --McCrays staff makes closer to $2 million. He now regularly names Thrive as one of his administrations core achievements. Later, she wondered aloud whether her work with men like Mr. Abreu would be enough. That the co-mayors could fly under the radar to burn through $1.6 billion to no obvious good effect is an embarrassment but understandable in the abstract. The city invested heavily on mental health before the de Blasio administration: For example, the Health Department spent $243 million in the 2014 fiscal year on mental health contracts. . So far, she has not been able to get the mayor to take it. While this may appear to be a good idea to spend a lot of money on a mental health effort, it appears that no one has seen any actual results. Again, though, no data was available on the number of people referred or the outcomes of the treatment. Over the next four years, Ms. McCray would transform herself into a mental health evangelist. Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? This story has been shared 175,437 times. Roughly 10 percent of the Thrive budget, more than $30 million in the current fiscal year, goes to address serious mental illness, according to City Hall. But this is 2019, and the general feeling at least in the deBlasio administration is that if theres not a lot of dough attached to the spousal sinecure, it doesnt really matter enough. We cant have a universality in this from day one, he added. Its about trying to give people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged access to the same kind of mental health care that people in upper middle income or affluent communities have enjoyed as a matter of course for a very long time.. Please share your thoughts about this article below. De Blasio's wife can't account for $850m given to mental health scheme https://t.co/gTEJcrCeob via @MailOnline, NYC Mayor De Blasio's wife spent $900 million in taxpayer moneywith no record of how it was used https://t.co/UGe8liu6L0, De Blasio and co-mayor wife have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer moneyFrankly Im surprised its not much more considering these two incompetent lazy stoners are at the helm. One, fromfrom City Hall, showed $594million in spending, but a second, from the Independent Budget Office, showed $816milion. Chris Pleasance for MailOnline We do have some outcomes. Heres How (and When) To Watch President Trump At CPAC. The service also includes text and web chat. DE BLASIO EXTENDS STATE OF EMERGENCY IN NEW YORK FOR ANOTHER 30 DAYS, "That article [referring to The City story]didn't take into account the work that's being done," de Blasio said. At least one available barometer hinted at the challenges that the city still faces in dealing with mental illness: More New Yorkers dialed 911 to report a person in the midst of a mental health crisis last year 179,000 calls than at any point in more than a decade. Questions have mounted in recent days over McCrays expansive role in high-level City Hall decisions, despite having no official title other than wife of the mayor. It is crazy and ridiculous when someone gets funded $850 million and I dont get a response right away, he said, adding later, If you have a service, you have to respond to that service otherwise, close up.. Chirlane McCray can't explain where the $850m in funding has gone after it was given to the organizationshe runs, ThriveNYC. That is, nobody appears to have kept receipts; the subways and street corners are still overrun with crazy people, and nobody in charge knows whats to happen next. During one such episode in 2012, a man whose family members called 911 to try to help him, attacked one of the responding officers, stabbing him in the neck and face. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post. Information provided by City Hall shows McCray held 19 media-related events, including one-on-one interviews with specific outlets and public speaking sessions. I'm not sure anybody does.'. But lets be clear: If your boondogglery sets the New York City Council back on its heels, you truly are soaring with the eagles. Right up there with co-Mayor Bill, who started the week on his own sour note announcing that his signature Renewal school program was closing up shop after pounding $773 million down a rathole. The Thrive program, which had its budget raised to $250 million per year in 2019, has produced some underwhelming numbers in terms of how many people it impacts. Seven mayors attended a 2017 national mental health conference in New York City. New York is supposed to be better than that. Thrive NYC is really best understood as a tale of two cities initiative, said Stephen Eide, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and an expert on homelessness and urban policy. The father asked for a psychiatrist and a social worker to be sent to the home. You should choose to work on something that you would do without pay, she said. Ms. McCray, for example, seldom talks about Thrive without imploring audience to repeat the number of its mental health hotline, 1-888-NYC-WELL. For instance, Thrives metrics show that between July 2016 and October 2018, 189,070 Naloxone kits were distributed throughout hospitals, syringe exchange programs and other sites where opioid overdose is common. ", Sometimes you look at a headline like this and think: "that can't possibly be true.". The phones at NYC-WELL ring constantly, 180,000 times in 2018, according to city data. According to the Daily Mail, Thrive said it has developed a list of 417 metrics to measure how effective the program is moving forward, but asked to assess its impact so far, Politico said the data was piecemeal and showed a largely failing picture. De Blasio and co-mayor wife have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer money, Frankly Im surprised its not much more considering these two incompetent lazy stoners are at the helm. But the vast majority of city spending on the program goes to more than 40 other endeavors, such as a crime victim advocate program; social and emotional learning in public schools; and a corps of young behavioral health clinicians paid by the city to work at nonprofits for three years. But problems with the citys initial proposals delayed the process, those involved said. One, fromCity Hall, showed $594million in spending, but a second, from the Independent Budget Office, showed $816milion. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. Read our full Disclosure. That two such scandals should bubble to the surface unannounced is bad enough. Bill de Blasio's wife can't account for staggering amount of taxpayer money that the NY Mayor gave her for mental health project Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray cannot explain where $850million given to the mental health program she champions has gone, according to reports. The mental health initiative, known as ThriveNYC, is crucial to Ms. McCrays potential as a future political candidate, and has become increasingly important to Mr. de Blasio as he toys with a possible 2020 presidential bid. Bill de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray cannot explain where $850million given to the mental health program she champions has gone, according to reports. They sent a whole army of police, said the father, who asked to be referred to only by his first name, Ralph, to protect his sons privacy. The City Council was shocked when they learned that McCray and Team Thrive have spent about $900 million since the programs inception, and no one appears to know why. For example, 29 hospitals had agreed to screen almost 78,000 new mothers for post-natal depression each year as part of the scheme. That Stringer could sleep through it all is the real scandal; why does the city even have a comptroller, if thats the standard of performance? Things happen. Benedy Abreu, right, is in a program funded through Thrive to help those with serious mental illness and a criminal past. Well, he didnt actually say rathole, and the price tag has doubtless been lowballed but he also had no credible explanation for the debacle, nor did he apologize for it. Repeatedly presented by City Hall as a four-year $850 million plan, city officials now say $560 million will have been spent in that time. 12:52 GMT 01 Mar 2019