The Civic Issue
B-HEARD (Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division) sends health-first teams — EMTs and crisis counselors — instead of armed police to mental health 911 calls. It now covers 40% of precincts. But 11,800 involuntary psychiatric transports occurred between Jan 2024 and May 2025, and the debate over involuntary commitment for people in crisis remains contentious. Advocates want B-HEARD expanded citywide; critics say it's too slow and underfunded.
Headline Spending
$126.0M
identifiable in budget
Budget Lines (Adopted)
$691.0M
14 lines
Vendor Spending
$136.5M
7 vendors
| Line | Adopted | Spent |
|---|---|---|
MH Resources Review - NYC Safe 2.0 MENTAL HEALTH | $85.7M | $40.4M |
MENTAL HEALTH-VOLUNTARY MENTAL HEALTH | $235.9M | $153.3M |
NYC Well Call Center MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-OTPS | $24.2M | $22.0M |
NYC Safe OTPS MENTAL HEALTH | $19.4M | $3.4M |
NYC Safe MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-PS | $7.9M | $4.0M |
MH Resources Review - NYC Safe 2.0 MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-PS | $6.9M | $2.5M |
Mobile Crisis Services MH-HHC MENTAL HEALTH | $5.4M | $0 |
Public Health Diversion Centers MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-OTPS | $4.7M | $4.0M |
NYC Safe - Co-Response Teams PS MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-PS | $308.4K | $0 |
NYC Safe - Co-Response Teams OTPS MENTAL HEALTH | $123.3K | $0 |
NYC Safe - Triage and Admin PS MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-PS | $149.3K | $112.9K |
Involuntary Removal Database MENTAL HEALTH | $0 | $0 |
NYPD - Crisis Intervention Teams OTPS MENTAL HYGIENE MGMT SVCS-OTPS | $0 | $106.0K |
AMBULANCE SERVICES EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES-PS (FDNY) | $300.4M | $175.2M |
| CENTER FOR URBAN COMMUNITY SERVICES INC | $45.4M | 306 txns |
| THE MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY INC | $27.8M | 92 txns |
| VNS Health Behavioral Health Inc | $9.1M | 15 txns |
| COMMUNITY ACCESS INC | $15.9M | 168 txns |
| INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY LIVING, INC. | $15.5M | 190 txns |
| POSTGRADUATE CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH | $11.7M | 171 txns |
| SERVICES FOR THE UNDERSERVED INC | $11.1M | 100 txns |
Total Identifiable Spending
$126.0M adopted (NYC Safe program lines: $85.7M + $19.4M + $7.9M + $6.9M + $5.4M + $431K co-response/triage) + $24.2M NYC Well Call Center + $4.7M Public Health Diversion Centers = ~$154.9M in crisis response infrastructure
B-HEARD is funded through the broader "NYC Safe" program infrastructure within DOHMH. NYC Safe encompasses multiple budget lines totaling ~$126M adopted: the large "MH Resources Review - NYC Safe 2.0" ($85.7M + $6.9M = $92.6M across two departments), NYC Safe OTPS ($19.4M), NYC Safe PS ($7.9M), Mobile Crisis Services MH-HHC ($5.4M), and specific co-response/triage lines ($431K combined with $0 cash — indicating they're new or unfunded). The co-response teams — the core of B-HEARD — have named budget lines ("NYC Safe - Co-Response Teams") but show $0 cash expense, meaning the money flows through larger NYC Safe lines rather than these specific codes. The NYC Well Call Center ($24.2M adopted, $30.5M modified) is the 24/7 mental health hotline that triages crisis calls and dispatches B-HEARD teams. VNS Health Behavioral Health Inc ($9.1M, including a $20.6M IMT contract) provides Intensive Mobile Treatment services — the most clinical tier of crisis response. DOHMH also funds NYPD Crisis Intervention Teams ($837K modified, $106K cash) — training and equipping NYPD officers for co-response alongside B-HEARD. FDNY's Ambulance Services ($300.4M) provides the EMT transport that B-HEARD teams rely on, but this line covers all 911 medical calls citywide, not just mental health.
B-HEARD cannot be cleanly separated from the broader NYC Safe program. The $431K in dedicated co-response budget lines with $0 cash suggests B-HEARD teams are funded through the $85.7M "MH Resources Review" umbrella rather than their own codes. NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) operates the crisis receiving centers and provides the clinical staff for B-HEARD teams, but H+H is a separate entity — its internal spending is not in DOHMH's data. FDNY dispatches B-HEARD teams alongside ambulances, but the dispatching cost is embedded in FDNY's $29.5M COMMUN/DISPATCH EMS line shared with all 911 EMS calls. The 11,800 involuntary transports are executed by NYPD and FDNY, not B-HEARD — that spending is within general patrol and EMS operations. The "Involuntary Removal Database" budget line exists but is completely unfunded ($0/$0/$0).
Key Context
B-HEARD launched in 2021 as a pilot and expanded to 40% of precincts by 2025. It's the city's answer to the national "send social workers not police" movement. The program sits within DOHMH's NYC Safe initiative (formerly ThriveNYC 2.0), which was restructured in 2019 to focus on serious mental illness and crisis response. The total DOHMH Mental Health and Mental Hygiene Management Services budget is $824M — making crisis response ($155M) roughly 19% of the mental health budget. DOHMH's total budget is $2.44B. The NYC Well Call Center ($24.2M → $30.5M modified, a $6.3M mid-year increase) is a critical gateway — it triages 911 mental health calls and determines whether B-HEARD, NYPD, or EMS responds. The debate over involuntary commitment (Kendra's Law expansions, Mayor Adams' psychiatric hold policy) creates demand pressure on this system that outpaces B-HEARD's 40% precinct coverage. Full citywide coverage would require roughly 2.5x the current co-response budget — but those costs are obscured by the umbrella NYC Safe funding structure.