Your Weekly Dose of Health November 20, 2015

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio this week announced that New York City will add 15,000 units of supportive housing for the homeless and mentally ill over the next 15 years.  Customarily, supportive housing under the “New York-New York” program has been the result of negotiations between the governor and mayor.  This year broke that precedent, as the mayor acted on his own.  Read more here.

New York City’s Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene penned an op-ed piece in the Guardian this week calling for a renewed commitment to dealing with the city’s mental health and addiction crises.

State Senator Carlucci wrote an op-ed in the Journal News urging Governor Cuomo to sign a bill that would create a Mental Health Anti-Stigma Fund.  The bill would allow for a box that New Yorkers can check off on their income tax forms, the funds from which would support mental health education.

New York State’s new medical marijuana program is unlikely to be ready to operate by the January 7th deadline, according to this article in the Gothamist.

A coalition of health professionals wrote an open letter to Governor Cuomo and the State Senate in support of paid family leave.  See the letter here.

The de Blasio administration released a series of advertisements this week warning New Yorkers of the dangers of synthetic marijuana.