Senate Bill S1971

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1971

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to requiring the inclusion of suicide prevention resources to
be provided with a  warrant of eviction

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would amend the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law to
require warrants of eviction to include suicide prevention information
so those being evicted or dispossessed will be able to take steps to
address the impact of eviction on their mental health.  The intent of
this bill is to make individuals who have recently gone through the
hardship of being evicted aware of mental health services regarding
suicide.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one: would add a new paragraph, b, to subdivision 1 of section
              

749 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law to require that the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as well as the applicable New York
State Office of Mental Health Suicide Crisis telephone number be
included in any warrants for eviction or dispossession pursuant to
section 749.

Section two: effective date of 180 days.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2016 there were twice as many suicides as there were homicides in the
United States. At nearly 45,000 suicides that year, 62.3% of violent
deaths were by suicides. According to a 2019 analysis of Center for
Disease Control data, suicides were most often preceded by a mental
health issue, intimate partner conflict, or impending crisis (including
job and home loss) during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Suicide is
the leading cause of violent death in New York State as well. According
to the New York State Sheriff's Association, 73% of the 1,379 violent
deaths that occurred outside of New York City in 2015 were suicides. The
NYC Department of Health reported a similarly alarming figure: over 50%
of 2015's violent incidents in the City were suicides. Action needs to
be taken to address the National and Local suicide crisis we are facing.

An August 14, 2019 report to the Federal Communications Commissions
prepared by the Wireline Competition Bureau and the Office of Economics
and Analytics provided a meta-analysis of the efficacy of suicide crisis
hotlines. The report showed that helplines yield a significant reduction
in callers' self-reported crisis and suicide states from the beginning
to the end of the calls. A cited evaluation of 550 callers from 6
different help centers reported that helpline call directly stopped
79.6% of callers from killing themselves. Suicide prevention hotlines
are a key resource for individuals experiencing crises.

To address this crisis at the local level, a team of epidemiologists in
Washington County, Oregon spent 6 years working to create more complete
data regarding the impact of each possible issue on suicide rate. They
found that eviction was the most common crisis experienced by those who
committed suicide. As a result, law enforcement intervened by including
crisis help line information along with eviction notices. The positive
outcomes resulting from access to this form of support during a crisis
have decades of documented evidence.  Raising awareness to individuals
considering suicide during the time of crisis (such as an eviction) can
normalize their feelings by validating that their circumstance is seri-
ous and that they should seek assistance. Local helplines are included
as well pursuant to this legislation because their regional knowledge
and training may make them better resources in callers' pursuit of new
housing.

This legislation would connect the dots for many people between the
housing crisis and its impact on mental health. Local helpline workers
are trained to provide support and could offer more county specific
resources available to those potentially experiencing housing loss. For
this reason both county and national helplines are required to be
included in warrants of eviction, as well as any addition resources
sheriff's departments wish to include.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S. 2230 of 2021-22: Referred to Housing, Construction and Community
Development;

S. 9093 of 2020: Referred to Rules

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Undetermined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 180 days after becoming law.