Peer to Peer, Teaching Each Other

The isolation brought on during the pandemic offered an opportunity for reflection for many, including Edwin (Eddie) Rosario. The pandemic gave him time to think about how short life is and what his future held.

Eddie realized he wanted to make a difference in the lives of young people who, like him, grew up in an environment where mental health challenges were stigmatized and unaddressed. 

Eddie became a peer specialist on the ICL Shelter Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team, where he uses his lifetime of lived experience to provide high quality care and to support other people who now face challenges similar to the ones he faced.

Edwin (Eddie) Rosario

Our Behavioral Healthcare System is in Crisis; Here’s How We Fix It

Spotlight: ICL Op-ed in the Gotham Gazette

Dr. Victoria Pham, our Chief Medical Officer at ICL, understands the deficits and plight of the behavioral health care system. Very often she witnesses patients in need of hospitalization forced to wait days to be admitted because of the lack of available beds in New York City. Our behavioral health care system is struggling, and fixing it is a public health imperative.

To begin to meet the challenges of this crisis, we need the state to increase the number of psychiatric beds, break down silos and better coordinate services, and ensure providers have the flexibility to continue to provide telehealth services to their clients. You can read more about how we can improve our entire behavioral health care system in Victoria’s op-ed in the Gotham Gazette here.

Institute for Community Living 

ICL helps New Yorkers of all backgrounds and ages living with serious mental illness, substance use disorder, and developmental disabilities achieve greater health and independence.

Your gift will immediately help those with the greatest need. Please take a moment to help people get better with us. To discuss your gift or learn more about your giving option, please email Development@iclinc.net or call 212-385-3030, x 10004.  

Call 844-ICL-HOPE (844-425-4673) to connect to resources.

Visit iclinc.org to learn more about ICL programs and services.