Mayor Eric Adams launches ‘Bridge to Home’ Hell’s Kitchen facility for severely mentally ill New Yorkers

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday launched a new facility in Hell’s Kitchen that will house severely mentally ill New Yorkers and connect them to city services.

The “Bridge to Home” pilot program, which was first announced by the mayor in his State of the City address in January, will aim to help those who have been discharged from psychiatric facilities but who are still not ready to live independently.

The initiative — part of a $13 million pilot program run by Health + Hospitals, officials previously said — will be located at the newly-opened site on West 36th Street near Tenth Avenue, about a block from the Javits Center.

It will offer individual rooms, three square meals a day and wraparound mental health services to 46 residents when at full capacity, City Hall officials said.

The first residents are set to arrive by the end of the week, with service ramping up in the months ahead, the officials said.

Ultimately, the transitionary program will provide 100 beds to New Yorkers who need help to stay on top of their meds and treatment post-release.

The Adams administration argues the initiative will help reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations. 

“It’s no secret that too many New Yorkers are cycling between a revolving door system of our emergency rooms when they’re dealing with severe medical issues and mental health issues, and they’re back out on our streets repeatedly,” Adams said.

City Hall aims to open a second “Bridge to Home” facility with approximately 50 beds by fall 2026. 

Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent, has proposed policies like giving doctors the ability to commit drug addicts into treatment against their will and reviving a Bloomberg-era policy to evict rule-breaking homeless shelter residents .

“There’s no dignity in living in an encampment, living on the streets, particularly with substance abuse issues and severe mental health issues,” he said.