On January 31st, the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) released a Concept Paper outlining a forthcoming Request for Proposals (RFP) for the re-procurement of NYC Well to newly awarded contractor(s). NYC Well is a 24/7 resource that allows New Yorkers to call, text, and chat a centralized contact center to receive behavioral health crisis counseling, suicide prevention, emotional and peer support, and referrals to ongoing behavioral health care services.
NYC Well and the forthcoming 988 Suicide Prevention and Behavioral Health Crisis Hotline system will function as a single entity, and the contractor will answer contacts to both the NYC Well center and to 988 from NYC.
DOHMH anticipates awarding $335 million in total funding to up to three contracts over the nine-year program period. Contracts will begin April 1, 2023, with the ability to be fully operational by July 1, 2023. DOHMH projects 500,000 inbound calls, texts, and chats annually.
The Concept Paper is available here, and our summary can be found here. Comments on the Concept Paper must be submitted to RFP@health.nyc.gov with the subject line “NYC Well Concept Paper” through March 17th. In addition to general comments regarding the program concept, DOHMH is seeking input regarding what, if any, services could be divided among multiple contractors or subcontractors.