Good morning, it’s Thursday.
An interesting juxtaposition presented itself as I was Googling around in search of topics for today’s morning missive. It is both World Mental Health Day AND World Homeless Day. If you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention to the news these days, you’ll know that both of these issues have reached crisis levels in recent years – statewide, nationally, and across the globe.
Mental health challenges are fueled by a wide range of things, depending on one’s age and/or circumstance (genetics, exposure to violence and/or physical or mental abuse, isolation, social media, bullying, substance use etc.).
Mental health does NOT, however, necessarily directly account for homelessness. In fact, studies have consistently found that only just about a quarter to 30 percent of unhoused individuals also have a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia.
The impact of BEING homeless on one’s mental health is an entirely different matter. Studies have shown that one is more likely to be depressed, have suicidal thoughts, and turn to substance use if one is unhoused.
This stands to reason. There is no way to focus on your physical and mental wellbeing when you don’t have a safe, stable, secure roof over your head. Also, if you’re not stably housed, it’s hard to go to school, hold down a job, and do the things that would arguably enable you to improve your financial standing and help you end the homelessness cycle.
A record-high number of people – 653,104 – experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2023, which was a more than 12.1 percent increase over the previous year, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The number of people who experienced homelessness for the first time and entered an emergency shelter increased 23 percent.
Meanwhile, 21 percent of people experiencing homelessness in 2022 reported having a series mental illness, and 16 reported having a substance abuse disorder, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Black and Brown people are disproportionately represented among homeless individuals AND, due to long-standing and deep-seated racial inequities in our healthcare system, are less likely to be able to access and/or afford the treatment and programs they need.
There are a lot more troubling statistics where these came from, especially if I were to broaden the scope out to include not just the U.S. but the world. It’s damn depressing, actually. And I don’t think I need to drown you in data to make the point that needs to be made here. We need to break this cycle. It has gone on long enough.
Interestingly, though, I do think it’s worth mentioning that the theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is “mental health at work.” Says the WHO:
Safe, healthy working environments can act as a protective factor for mental health. Unhealthy conditions including stigma, discrimination, and exposure to risks like harassment and other poor working conditions, can pose significant risks, affecting mental health, overall quality of life and consequently participation or productivity at work.
I’m just going to leave that right there for you to ruminate on.
Things are taking a decidedly cooler turn, weather-wise, and my immune system is going to take a hit. Cue the seasonal change cold in 3, 2, 1…Today will be partly cloudy, with temperatures topping out in the mid-50s. Sweater AND jacket weather, for sure.
In the headlines…
Milton carved a path of destruction after crashing ashore last night on Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall near Sarasota and making its way across the state overnight with ferocious winds and heavy rains.
By around midnight, the storm had destroyed more than 100 homes, killed several people in a retirement community and ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The ballpark in St. Petersburg was designated as a staging site for first responders and state and local emergency management services aiding with debris removal. The facility was set up to host 10,000 people, with cots arranged on the playing surface.
Overturned cars, dangling traffic lights and twisted metal littered the streets of Tampa, Bradenton and Venice, Florida.
More than 5.5 million people were under storm surge warnings and more than 13 million under a flood watch, according to the National Weather Service.
Close to 3 million Florida residents are without power as a result of the storm.
New York deployed 65 National Guard soldiers and airmen to Florida to assist the response to Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Florida’s west coast last night, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
With less than four weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold rallies in staunchly Democratic states he has virtually no chance of winning.
Over the next month, the former president has events scheduled in Colorado, California, Illinois and New York. President Joe Biden won those states by an average of 20 points in 2020, with his 13-point Colorado win the closest margin.
Trump plans to hold a rally at Madison Square Garden arena in New York City and will hold a rally near Coachella, California on Saturday as he heads to two blue states in the final stretch of the presidential election.
The Kremlin confirmed a report that former Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin COVID-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic, but denied that the two leaders traded phone calls.
Vice President Kamala Harris blitzed the media this week in a series of interviews to speak to voters who say they still don’t know enough about her. One thing they learned: how she keeps answering the question she wants, not the one that was asked.
President Joe Biden hadn’t been briefed about a back-and-forth between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Harris over hurricane recovery before he praised him as “gracious” in a news conference yesterday, a source familiar with the situation said.
Democrats are increasingly anxious over Harris’ fate. There is a growing sense that her campaign is stuck in the mud – as familiar debates crop up over where and how to deploy precious resources.
There’s also concern on everything from the static poll numbers in the race to the vice president’s messaging and even her standing with men — not just white men but Black and Hispanic men, too.
Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota opened the first day of voting in Arizona yesterday with a spree of campaign events across the state, zeroing in on a crucial swing state after their debate last week.
Democratic and Republican candidates are locked in tight races for Senate in Florida, Texas and Ohio, three states that have yielded increasingly close polls in recent weeks, according to a new survey.
For the first time in two months, Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke yesterday in a phone conversation that focused on Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack.
The White House described the dialogue as “direct” and “productive”, and said Biden and Netanyahu had agreed to stay in “close contact” in coming days. Harris also joined the call.
“They discussed a range of issues,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after the call ended, characterizing the conversation as an extension of discussions between US and Israeli officials about Israel’s response to the Iranian attack.
The 30-minute call came amid tensions with Iran, while Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promised an Israeli strike against Iran will be “lethal, precise and surprising.”
The pro-Palestinian group that sparked the student encampment movement at Columbia University in response to the Israel-Hamas war is becoming more hard-line in its rhetoric, openly supporting militant groups fighting Israel.
Brown University announced that its governing board had voted to reject a student proposal to divest from companies involved in Israeli military and security activities.
Joined by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a victim of gun violence, Hochul signed several firearms safety bills into law in New York City.
One of the new laws requires gun store owners to post signs detailing the potential safety risks posed by their wares.
Primary care and dental clinics located within schools are pleading with Hochul to stop major changes to their Medicaid payments ahead of a statewide transition next year.
Hochul has continued to refrain from directly calling for Mayor Eric Adams’ resignation, despite pressure from New Yorkers and growing concerns about his administration.
Hochul has again vetoed a pension bill impacting more than 1,200 state employees, including environmental conservation officers and forest rangers, citing “substantial unbudgeted costs.”
Hochul will reportedly go to bat for Mets owner Steve Cohen – one of the Democrat’s biggest donors – to help revive the billionaire’s all-but-dead bid for a coveted New York City casino license.
With Adams’s political future uncertain, state Attorney General Letitia James, is considering whether to run to replace him, people familiar with her thinking said. This could put her on a collision course with a past adversary, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As federal prosecutors scrutinize Adams and his top aides, the Manhattan DA’s office has opened yet another corruption investigation into City Hall, this one involving the city’s leasing of commercial properties, people with knowledge of the matter said.
As the exodus from Adams’ administration continues, a number of New York City elected officials are urging voters to reject a series of ballot proposals that they say would give Adams’ office more power.
Adams’ former top aide Sheena Wright took to social media to post a cryptic message about “testimonies” and having “stories to tell” days after resigning as first deputy mayor.
Wright had not publicly commented on her departure. She broke her silence with an Instagram post yesterday featuring the song “Church Doors” by Yolanda Adams.
Adams continues his work in leading the city as he also fights federal bribery charges. He also claimed he has no clue who pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter is after she bragged about “getting him indicted.”
Ahsan Chughtai, a former Adams aide who was fired after his home was raided by the FBI and the city Department of Investigation, told a group of businessmen shortly after he was appointed that it was his job to open the “portals in politics.”
Adams is reportedly close to picking a permanent NYPD commissioner – one of several City Hall positions left unfilled due to a staggering exodus of top staff amid encircling federal scrutiny.
The Randalls Island migrant shelter is closing this winter as the number of asylum seekers in the city’s shelter system has decreased, Adams announced.
City Hall, in a press release announcing the massive tent encampments Feb. 28 closure, said that the number of migrants housed in taxpayer-funded shelters had gone down for 14 consecutive weeks, and was now at its lowest level in more than a year.
New York City’s use of hotels as emergency shelters to house migrants will continue for the foreseeable future, as the Department of Homeless Services is seeking a contract with hotels to provide a total of 14,000 rooms to shelter migrants at least through 2025.
Two educational consultants who were barred from working in the city’s school system have recently resurfaced in connection with city contracts, raising eyebrows as the feds probe the chancellor’s brother and his own business dealings with the city.
The Correction Department’s top spokeswoman and the agency’s compliance director got into a dustup at Gracie Mansion during a Hispanic Heritage event that ended when the spokeswoman tossed the director’s cell phone across the room, video shows.
Increased 911 call volume in New York and the city’s unwieldy traffic have led to slower response times for ambulances on their way to save lives.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal called on MSG officials to cancel Trump’s Oct. 27 rally, claiming it could lead to “widespread violence” as he ripped into the former president and his supporters during the online diatribe.
New York City emergency management officials are warning about a geomagnetic storm that could disrupt technology and critical infrastructure, including radio signals, GPS systems, power grids, satellites and other forms of communication.
An explosion of particles is expected to reach Earth today, and could lead to visible Northern Lights in much of the country while also raising power grid concerns.
New York City’s transportation department announced that it is considering a slew of projects to turn the blighted areas beneath and around the traffic-choked Brooklyn-Queens Expressway into public spaces New Yorkers might actually enjoy.
A Turkish Airlines pilot died after collapsing during his flight from Seattle to Istanbul, prompting the jetliner to make an emergency landing in New York, an airline spokesman said.
Starting next month, Amtrak will be losing three daily round trips between the Capital Region and New York City, and travelers heading north to Montreal will face airport-style layovers of 90 minutes or more, according to a leading passenger advocacy group.
A mortgage foreclosure auction will be held for downtown Troy properties formerly owned by a local developer as a way to clear more than $270,000 in mechanic’s liens on the locations.
A retired New York correction officer has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
An attack by multiple dogs – all pit bulls – outside a home on the 500 block of Central Avenue in Albany has left one man dead, police said.
The Schenectady City School District Board of Education held a meeting to discuss progress being made on weapon detection and mental health measures that were passed in late September.
Albany County has launched an initiative to combat discrimination against older adults. A recent survey by the county’s Department for the Aging found that people are experiencing negative attitudes and behaviors based upon their age.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan for tree-clearing on a Lake George mountain is in violation of the state Constitution, an environmental watchdog group contends.
The state Office of the Comptroller has criticized Village of Lake George staff for failing to properly maintain complete, accurate and timely financial records and the village Board of Trustees for not providing oversight of those records so errors could be identified.
Sean “Diddy” Combs attorneys accused the government of leaking hotel surveillance footage of him brutally beating his former girlfriend to CNN, saying they may ask for the widely published video to be barred from his racketeering and sex trafficking trial.
The Mets have a lucky pumpkin that first baseman Pete Alonzo picked up as a souvenir during a recent trip to Milwaukee.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
