New York – New York City Mayor Eric Adams at a press conference October 10, 2024, announced a new public safety and social services outreach initiative to help keep New Yorkers safe and healthy on the subway system.
Launched in August, PATH, Partnership Assistance for Transit Homelessness teams consist of DHS nurses and outreach staff working alongside NYPD transit police who conduct outreach overnight patrols on Manhattan subway stations from 8:00 PM to 12:00 PM. PATH teams offer individuals a range of support services. The program will be expanded in the months to come.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe on our subways and maintaining confidence in the transit system that each day moves over 4 million people is key to ensuring that New York remains the safest big city in America,” said Mayor Adams. “When we came into office, we said the days of ignoring people in need — on our streets and in our subways — were over. Since then, we have continued to make mental health and public safety a focus of our administration and have delivered real results. The subways continue to be safer and safer. Year-to-date, subway crime is down over 5 percent, with an almost 9 percent decrease in September alone. With today’s announcement of PATH, we are, once again, demonstrating our responsible approach to addressing the concerns of New Yorkers. Since launching less than two months ago, PATH has already made contact with over 1,500 unhoused New Yorkers and delivered services to over 500 people. This is not only the compassionate thing to do, but the right thing to do. All this work builds on our efforts over the last three years to connect thousands of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness to permanent housing citywide. We will continue to make New York City a safer and more affordable city, and today’s announcement is another example of how we are achieving that vision and delivering significant results.”
PATH is a major advancement in the city’s embrace of “co-response” — a crisis response model gaining traction nationally. This program allows police to be paired with clinical professionals. The team engages with those in need of medical care or social services. The presence of police affords clinicians a greater sense of personal safety, enabling more meaningful engagement. Co-response also greatly enhances the ability of a clinician to initiate transport to a hospital for evaluation in circumstances where an individual exhibits symptoms of mental illness presenting a danger to self or others.
“Since the beginning of our administration, we have been laser focused on creating outreach opportunities and supportive connections with people living in unsheltered environments whether in our streets or on our subways,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “These efforts include a focus on those with severe mental illness and helping folks get the care they need, even if they may not recognize their needs at a given moment. Our PATH teams are another tool to do this work with response teams including NYPD, social service professionals, and nurses from our public hospital system. We look forward to building on these efforts and reaching every New Yorker in need.”
“Helping homeless individuals is more complex than just calling 911,” said New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman, chair, health committee. “It requires a comprehensive response that includes mental health and social service professionals, who are best able to help New Yorkers in need. That is why today’s newly-announced initiative to assist unsheltered individuals in the city’s subway system is such an important step. Similar to the city-state program, called SCOUT, which has been a great success, I look forward to seeing comparable results for the PATH program.”
