CRISIS THAT’S CONTINUING TO
EXPLODE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
>> Reporter: PRIOR TO THE
OUTBREAK OF COVID-19, AN
ESTIMATED 1 IN 5 NEW YORKERS
STRUGGLED WITH MENTAL HEALTH
ISSUES, WHICH HAS ONLY BEEN
EXACERBATED BY THE PANDEMIC.
WITH WIDESPREAD VACCINATION
PROJECTED TO BEGIN BY SPRING OR
SUMMER, PEOPLE ARE FACING MANY
MORE MONTHS OF RESTRICTIONS AND
ISOLATION AS THIS DARK WINTER
APPROACHES.
>> MENTAL HEALTH USED TO BE
SWEPT UNDER THE RUG.
USED TO BE A SECOND CLASS
CITIZEN OF HEALTH CARE.
IT CAN’T BE ANYMORE.
IT NEEDS TO BE FRONT AND CENTER.
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS ACTUALLY WILL
BE MORE LASTING IN ITS MENTAL
HEALTH IMPLICATIONS THAN
PHYSICAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS.
>> Reporter: THERE ARE OVER
33,000 YOUNG PEOPLE DEALING WITH
TRAUMA AND HOMELESSNESS IN NEW
YORK CITY.
COVENANT HOUSE NEW YORK HAS
RAMPED UP ITS OPERATIONS
THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC TO
PROVIDE ROUND THE CLOCK SUPPORT,
SHELTER AND NUTRITION TO THE
CITY’S YOUTH IN NEED.
>> WE WERE SEEING A LOT OF YOUNG
PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTANDABLY WERE
SCARED AND ANXIOUS AND FEELING,
YOU KNOW, MORE HOPELESS AND MORE
DEPRESSED.
WE STARTED OFFERING TELEHEALTH
THERAPY SESSIONS.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED IS THAT MOST
OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE PREFER
IN-PERSON THERAPY.
WE RECONFIGURED SAFE PLACES SO
WE CAN SIT WITH THEM SIX FEET
APART, FACE MASKS ON.
>> Reporter: THEIT HAS SPIKED
DURING THE OUTBREAK.
>> PEOPLE ARE DREADING THE
CHANGE OF SEASON, DREADING THE
PROLONGED ISOLATION, NOT BEING
ABLE TO SOCIALIZE.
>> Reporter: HAS THE STIGMA
AFFECTED YOUR POPULATION ANY
MORE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND
THE ISOLATION?
>> SHAME AND STIGMA REALLY HAVE
BEEN THE SILENT KILLER FOR
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONDITIONS.
WE ARE NOW ABLE TO PROVIDE
VIRTUAL SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WHO
DON’T RESIDE IN THE CITY.
OVER 50% OF OUR CLIENTS STATED
THAT THEY WOULD ACTUALLY
CONTINUE VIRTUAL SERVICES.
>> Reporter: DR. EMAN YAWL FABU
IS ON THE FOREFRONT OF THE
BETTER PHYSICAL AND MENTAL
HEALTH CARE.
WHAT ARE SOME INNOVATIONS AND
METHODS YOU SEE IN A POST
PANDEMIC WORLD.
>> EVEN PRO-COVID WE HAD ALL
THESE CONDITIONS THAT EXISTED.
NOT EVERYONE HAD ACCESS TO CARE.
I MADE IT A GOAL OF MINE TO MAKE
SURE WE CREATE AWARENESS AROUND
MENTAL HEALTH.
THERE’S NO ONE SOLUTION FOR
EVERYTHING.
WE NEED A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO
MENTAL DISEASE.
YOU CAN HAVE THE DRUG BUT
SUPPORT CAN BE IMPORTANT TO YOU
AT THE RIGHT PLACE, AT THE RIGHT
TIME.
MAYBE THE DRUG IS IMPORTANT TO
YOU IN THE MORNING.
HAVING THIS PERSONALIZED
APPROACH TO MEDICINE DRIVEN BY
DATA SO WE CAN MAKE DECISIONS AT
THE RIGHT TIME.
>> Reporter: A CITYWIDE
INITIATIVE WAS LAUNCHED BY FIRST
LADY SHIRLANE McCLAY.
>> WHAT SHE DID WITH THRIVE WAS
MAKE MENTAL HEALTH AVAILABLE TO
EVERYONE.
STARTING WITH A HOTLINE THAT
ANYONE CAN CALL 24/7 AND GET
HELP AND GET SUPPORT.
THAT’S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE
ACHIEVED ANYWHERE IN AMERICA,
INCLUDING RURAL AREAS THAT
NEEDED THE MOST WHEN THERE MAY
NOT BE HEALTH CARE NEARBY.
>> AS A CANNOTOUNTRY, WE NEED TO
THINK ABOUT INTEGRATING MENTAL
HEALTH CARE WITH OUR PRIMARY
CARE.
STIGMA IS YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM.
IT’S THE FIRST ISSUE THAT COMES
UP.
WE’RE NOT BUILT TO HOLD ON TO
ALL OF THESE EMOTIONS BY
OURSELVES.
WE NEED OTHERS.
THAT’S WHY THIS PANDEMIC HAS
BEEN SO DIFFICULT.
THE ISOLATION.
THERE’S A KIND OF PUNISHMENT FOR
US.
WE CAN PREVENT CRISES.
WE DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO GET TO
THE POINT WHERE THEY FEEL LIKE
THERE’S NOWHERE TO TURN.
THERE’S NOTHING THEY CAN DO AND
THEY FEEL DRIVEN TO TAKE THEIR
OWN LIFE OR TO USE HEAVY DRUGS.
WE DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO REACH
THAT STAGE.
THERE’S ALWAYS HOPE AND THERE’S
ALWAYS HELP.
WE JUST HAVE TO REACH OUT.
THAT’S THE FIRST STEP TO GETTING
OUT OF THE SORROW, OUT OF THE
SADNESS, OUT OF THE PAIN THAT
WE’RE IN.
>> DR. DAVE CAMPBELL JOINS US
NOW LIVE.
GOOD MORNING, DAVE.
WE JUST HEARD FROM THE FIRST
LADY OF NEW YORK CITY TALKING
ABOUT DRUG ABUSE AND OVERDOSES.
WE KNOW THOSE HAVE SPIKED IN THE
TEN MONTHS.
HOW DOES THAT FACTOR INTO THIS
STORY ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH?
>> WILLIE, THANKS FOR HAVING ME
ON.
IT OVERLAPS TREMENDOUSLY.
WHAT WE’VE SEEN DURING THE
PANDEMIC NATIONWIDE, NOT JUST IN
NEW YORK CITY, IS THAT THERE’S
BEEN A SURGE AND OVERDOSE CASES,
NEW CASES.
TAKE INDIANA FOR EXAMPLE.
THEY HAD 80% INCREASE IN THE
NUMBER OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
VISITS, AND THAT WAS ONLY IN THE
SPRING BEFORE THIS WINTER SURGE.
THEY HAD A 30% INCREASE IN
OVERDOSE DEATHS.
FACTOR IN NOW THE SURGE WE’RE
IN, THE INCREASING NUMBERS OF
CASES, HOSPITALIZATIONS AND
DEATHS AND YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW
WE’RE GOING TO SEE THIS
CONTINUING OVERLAP OF INCREASING
MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH
INCREASING DRUG AND ALCOHOL
MISUSE, INCREASING AMOUNTS OF
ALCOHOL BEING CONSUMED, DRUGS
BEING USED.
AND, REALLY, THE SILENT KILLER,
AS WAS MENTIONED, IS THIS SHAME
AND STIGMA THAT FOLLOWS.
PEOPLE DON’T SIT AROUND THE
KITCHEN TABLE AND TALK ABOUT
THEIR ALCOHOL PROBLEM OR THEIR
DRUG PROBLEM.
IT IS A VERY QUIET, SILENT