Substance Use and Mental Health: An Unmuted Conversation with City Council Member Tiffany Cában

​What does it really takes to move the needle on mental health and substance use? New York is juggling fentanyl on the streets, ER boarding, shelter pressure, and a jail system that too often substitutes for care. This is a candid look at what works, what fails, and what we should build next.

​Expect straight talk and concrete tradeoffs, treatment versus enforcement, how 988 fits with 911, when involuntary care is appropriate, how many beds the city actually needs, and how to measure progress in months not years. Come ready to ask hard questions and pressure-test ideas. Unmuted is about useful disagreement and real outcomes, not talking points.