Jared Grant and Jonathan Timaru, two recent college graduates, stepped out into Prospect Park on Monday morning in puffy coats and backpacks to ask New Yorkers an unusual request. The idea was that they were conducting a survey to find out “the state of the people.”
Grant and Timaru are part of a team of six community health workers deployed to parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx asking people about their mental health and the various factors that can contribute to it. They feel safe in their homes and don’t know if they have housing or food security issues. They aim to connect people with resources such as mental health programs, eviction prevention, and food pantries.
Their outing is part of the city’s pilot program called Community Support Network, which started six months ago and expanded to Prospect Park this month. City officials said they will collect data on how many people they can help in the coming months, learning from similar past efforts that failed to win support from New Yorkers.
When Gothamist joined Grant and Timaru in Prospect Park on Monday, their results were mixed. Some were not interested in being approached. Some were grateful for the resources and grateful that someone cared about their well-being. At least one of her stated that the referrals she received did not meet her specific needs.
Mr. Grant and Mr. Timaru were initially tasked with speaking to neighbors near the park, but at the request of the Prospect Park Alliance, they began canvassing the green space. Most of the community support network’s work focuses on ZIP codes that the city targets for health reasons, but with this park, Grant and Timaru hope to reach visitors from a wide range of backgrounds. We are aiming for
Grant and Timaru go to the park two days a week, holding a printed list of city resources that people might hint they need in their conversations.
“Sometimes they just can vent and tell us how they feel because they don’t have anyone to talk to,” Timaru said.
He said investigations can last just a few minutes, but the longest conversation lasted an hour and covered everything that had happened to the person since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s what it means. Grant and Timaru try to refer people to city services whenever possible, and the city tracks the types of concerns people have and the resources they are referred to.
“We know that entry points into the mental health system can be difficult to find and access,” said City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.
Vasan said the city aims to help New Yorkers get through its front doors while taking a broad view of what resources and assistance can improve someone’s mental health. The City’s approach is based on evidence that mental health can be linked to a variety of external stressors. For example, a 2022 study by the city’s health department found that New Yorkers who experienced difficulty paying rent or buying groceries were far more likely to report symptoms of psychological distress than those who did not. found.
The Community Support Network pilot, funded by a $700,000 grant from the Helmsley Foundation, will initially run through June, but data from the survey shows it will be beneficial to New Yorkers. For example, the Department of Health may seek funding for an extension.
Morgan Monaco, president of the Prospect Park Alliance, advocated for the park to be one of the study sites. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooklyn residents strengthened their ties to the park, she said. At the time, with much of the city closed and indoor gatherings considered unsafe, parks served as a haven. She wants parks programs to play a more active role in improving the health of New Yorkers.
“Parks are places where people feel at peace,” Monaco said.
The Community Support Network has only been around for a few months, so it remains to be seen whether New Yorkers will suddenly appreciate being asked about their problems. City officials have so far been able to provide data on just a few dozen interactions. But previous efforts to invite New Yorkers to sit on orange “friendly benches” and discuss mental health as part of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Thrive NYC initiative weren’t very popular, Vasan said. .
He blamed the fact that New Yorkers had to choose to sit down and talk rather than being proactively approached.
“New Yorkers are busy people,” Vasan says. “We’re passing on the conversation to them.”
Grant and Timaru said they sometimes approach homeless people in parks, but they don’t specifically identify them. They said the idea is that anyone could need some help.
Jasmine Williams, 28, of Brooklyn, was resting by the lake after a run on Monday when Grant and Timaru approached her.
They’ve already seen a man leaning his phone against a tree to record a TikTok video, a couple feeding ducks from a Quaker Oats can, and a few park users who don’t speak English well enough to fill out a survey. There was a conflict with the people. Shola Thompson, director of mental health community programs for the city’s health department, said interviewers have the option of using remote translation services, but Grant and Timaru didn’t try their luck.
Ms. Williams answered most of the survey questions with quiet “yes” and “no.” When she asked if she had concerns about how Grant was dealing with her own emotions, she said she was. He asked if she had anyone to talk to, and she said, “No.”
Grant provided her with a list of city resources and pointed out the website and phone number for NYC Well, the city’s mental health hub. Williams is looking for a therapist, and she said she appreciates her suggestion. She rated this study at her 5 out of 5 in terms of usefulness.
But other New Yorkers approached by local health workers had a more lukewarm response.
“It’s pretty broad and a little vague,” Adrian Cobb said of the study after it was completed. But she added: “It’s a great start.”
When Timaru asked, “Are you concerned about your health or the health of your family or friends?” Cobb said, “Yes.” But when Timaru pointed me to the New York City Health and Hospitals website, she said it was more of an insurance issue. Grant and Timaru didn’t point her to specific resources for her insurance, so the conversation moved on to the next topic.
Some of the services offered through this initiative, like NYC Well, are already being promoted through traditional means such as subway advertising. But city health officials say the one-on-one conversations are meant to bring people out and help them find resources to meet their needs.
