City Limits

“We definitely support the [phones] initiative,” Jennifer Parish, director of criminal justice advocacy at the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project told THE CITY. “But it doesn’t make up for the fact that they are not connecting people with the services that they need.”

TruthOut

"The most recent report, despite its substantial expense to the citizens of New York City, merely corroborates what individuals previously incarcerated … have consistently asserted on record,” [said] Chaplain Dr. Victoria A. Phillips, [a staff member with the Mental Health Project] and leading member of JAC."

The Nation

"On June 13, Marco Barrios, a criminal justice advocate at the [Mental Health Project of the] Urban Justice Center, interviewed Lewis...Lewis told Barrios that he has been physically abused by Great Meadow officers and other incarcerated individuals."

City Limits

"Despite the mayor’s repeated statements that he wants to fund more ‘upstream’ services that address the city’s mental health crisis, his agenda, instead, focuses on post-crisis points and increased law enforcement...the mayor must invest in more preventive and evidenced-based supports. - Jennifer J. Parish & Marco Barrios, Mental Health Project

CBS News

"You have a right to human rights, a right to medical care. If a commissioner hides the truth, he should be removed," said Dt. Victoria A. Phillips of the Jails Action Coalition [a project co-founded by our Mental Health Project].

MHP

Frequent criminal involvement is often due to a culmination of unmet needs—such as substance use disorder, homelessness, and health conditions—which is why early diversion or removal of an individual from the criminal legal system is best to disrupt the cycle.

MHP Policy Brief

"People with mental health challenges are better served in the community than jail...With appropriate preventions and interventions, New York can reduce the number of people incarcerated who have mental health conditions, particularly Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and other marginalized communities."

Manhattan Express News

"'When will it end,” families of incarcerated individuals and those who have served time themselves cried out at a rally in the shadow of City Hall on Nov. 23, organized by #HALTsolitary and [the Mental Health Project's] Jails Action Coalition

NY Daily News

"Death rates at Rikers Island and other lockups in 2021 and 2022 were higher than in any year since 2000, according to city Board of Correction data obtained via a freedom of information request by the Jails Action Coalition [of the Mental Health Project], an advocacy group."

Bronx Free Press

Marco Barrios, an advocate with the Mental Health Project Urban Justice Center, spent 24 years in prison. “During my time of incarceration, my lifelines were my visits, my phone calls, and my mail. There’s no way I would be standing here today if I didn’t have those three,” remarked Barrios.