NYC to offer ‘coping sessions’ to communities hit hardest by coronavirus

Mayor de Blasio holds a media availability at City Hall, Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

The city will reach out to 10,000 New Yorkers in neighborhoods where coronavirus hit hardest to offer mental health help, Mayor de Blasio and city First Lady Chirlane McCray announced Tuesday.

“Communities with the highest mental health needs may be the least likely to access mental health resources during and after the pandemic,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “This need is intensified by the tragic deaths of black men and women at the hands of law enforcement.”

The city will set up “mental health disaster response and coping sessions” with residents from July to December, according to the statement.

The idea came from a task force to ensure racial equity in the city’s coronavirus response, which McCray is co-heading.

De Blasio also credited McCray with pushing him to reallocate some funding from the NYPD to youth and social services.

“The first lady and the task force believe that the shift of funds to youth services made sense, and she can tell you about it,” he said at a press conference.

“There’s no question that it was important to move more funds to youth and social services,” said McCray.

Her high-profile role in the administration has drawn ongoing accusations of nepotism, especially in light of her widely expected run for Brooklyn borough president next year.