During community healthcare group StartCare’s annual “Alliance Breakfast” on April 16, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez joined faith leaders and health care providers to talk about how his borough has changed its approach to mental health and substance abuse cases in the courts.
Since its founding in 2002, Brooklyn Mental Health Court (BMHC) has used a holistic approach, working with community groups to provide spiritual counseling, housing, employment assistance, and basic clinical care services. BMHC judges focus on diversion and put eligible participants in supervised community treatment rather than jail.
Gonzalez, the keynote speaker, talked about how the traditional justice system cannot handle the deeper issues of poverty and trauma. But Brooklyn’s faith groups, by serving as allies to the courts, have been able to tackle the mental health and substance abuse crisis the borough faces by helping shift the justice model from punishment to restoration. It’s a reform model being followed across the country, he assured. “Too often, the criminal justice system has been asked to step into the breach of things that are … structural,” Gonzalez said. “Untreated mental illness, addiction, trauma, and poverty — sometimes all at once — create a problem the justice system historically did not know how to handle. What I’ve tried to do is something different.” Gonzalez thanked faith leaders for taking on the difficult tasks that a prosecutor’s office cannot. “This work saves lives. It makes my job as a district attorney much easier when we address the behaviors that land people in court before they become crimes.”
The breakfast brought together government, health care, and faith leaders. During his keynote speech before clergy, clinicians, and policymakers, DA Gonzalez openly acknowledged the limitations of his office.
Gonzalez emphasized the unique role of BMHC judges, describing them as more like case managers who inquire about compliance, dedication, or even whether participants enjoyed a ball game they previously mentioned they might attend. He noted that while this may seem incidental, making individuals feel that their lives matter is actually an important intervention.
Statistics, Gonzalez said, show that BMHC’s success stands out from what takes place in traditional prosecutions. Participants in this model are 50% less likely to be re-arrested than comparable offenders in conventional courts. Since it was introduced, more than 1,200 people have gone through the BMHC system, and nearly 70% to 90% successfully avoided incarceration. Offenders who go through BMHC also have significantly lower re-conviction rates.
Gonzalez called for permanent health care financing and deeper integration between the medical and spiritual sectors.
“Brooklyn has operated the most effective mental health support in the country,” Gonzalez concluded. “Our numbers are there. We are creating pathways to treatment instead of just pathways to conviction.”