Columbia University and NYPL are joining forces to assist New York City neighborhoods dealing with the mental health fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to hit low-income and Black and Latinx New Yorkers the hardest. The Post-COVID Community Mental Health Project aims to increase public access to mental health information; educate communities on mental health risks, including addiction; engage residents in supporting each other’s wellbeing, and improve connections to behavioral health services.

To ensure the program reaches the city’s most vulnerable populations, NYPL and Columbia have partnered with the National Black Leadership Commission on Health (Black Health), a nonprofit that seeks to achieve health equity within the Black community. The organization will facilitate racially and ethnically diverse roundtable discussions to identify areas of behavioral health most relevant to the community.

The post-COVID Community Mental Health Project builds on initial work done by NYPL, which through Spaces to Thrive, a partnership with the Mayor's Office of ThriveNYC, offers free mental health resources, programs, and training at more than a dozen branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. 

Explore more of NYPL’s COVID-19 Community Support Resources, and find books that can jumpstart discussions about mental health with Spaces to Thrive: Book List.