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New York, NY—On Tuesday, June 11, at New York City (NYC) Hall, over 80 leaders, staff, and clients representing mental health Clubhouses and HIV and AIDS services organizations—as well as activists and elected officials—rallied against cuts to programs serving New Yorkers with serious mental illness, as well as those living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. They called upon Mayor Adams and the NYC Council to restore $5.7 million in funding to HIV and AIDS services organizations. They also demanded an extension of the contracts of seven community-based mental health Clubhouses (three in Manhattan, two in The Bronx, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens) through June 2025 to ensure the continuity and health of over 500 Clubhouse members they serve. The cuts and contract changes in the Mayor’s FY25 NYC budget will go into effect on July 1, while funding for the seven community-based Clubhouses will end September 30.

The organizations who came together in support of the rally included (in alphabetical order): ACT UP NY; Callen-Lorde Community Health Center; Emma L. Bowen Community Service Center (Rainbow Clubhouse); GMHC; and Housing Works.

Agency leaders, staff, and program clients who spoke at the rally included (in alphabetical order): Jason Cianciotto (GMHC); Dice Cooper (Lifelinks); Lawrence Fowler (Emma L. Bowen Community Service Center); Ruth Garcia (Housing Works); Natasha Goykhberg (Callen-Lorde); Daniel Hiraldo (GMHC); Maddie (Act Up NY); Marcelo Maia (Act Up NY); Anthony Morrishow (Rainbow Clubhouse member); Antonio R. (Rainbow Clubhouse member); and Valentina Vidal (GMHC).

Elected officials who attended and spoke at the rally included (in alphabetical order): NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher; NYC Council Member Gale Brewer; NYC Council Member Tiffany Cabán; NYC Council Member Shekar Krishnan; NYC Council Member Linda Lee; Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine; NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

The following are statements from elected officials and agency and community leaders (in alphabetical order):

“Mental healthcare treatment must be rooted in community–and that’s what our local Clubhouses do the best. Stripping New Yorkers of these intimate support networks, where they know the staff, where they are close to their home, their family, and their friends, and where they know for sure they are safe and cared for, will be nothing short of destabilizing,” said NYC Council Member Shaun Abreu. “While I welcome increased investments in mental healthcare, I am wary of this administration’s one-size-fits-all approach to this crisis. Upending community is not the way forward.”