Thirteen library branches, including the Bronx Library Center in Fordham, will now join the fight for increased mental health awareness services in areas where such services are considerably low.

First Lady Chirlane McCray, who helps oversee the office of ThriveNYC, made the announcement today alongside New York Public Library CEO Anthony Marx and ThriveNYC director Susan Herman at the Fordham branch that will see greater mental health resources, joining schools, senior centers, shelters, and police precincts across the city. The initiative, dubbed “Spaces to Thrive,” also includes Pelham Bay Library.

“Libraries are in the heart of our communities, and we are honored to partner with an institution that has provided New Yorkers with free, accessible programming for 100 years. This new partnership will allow us to reach even more people in our city with information about mental health resources and support,” said McCray in a statement.

ThriveNYC is now primed to roll out services at the library that include mental health workshops on a range of topics, a bookshelf dedicated solely to books on mental health, and a public awareness campaign.

“The Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC exists to fill critical gaps in our mental health system, and each of these library branches is in a neighborhood where services may still be too hard to come by. That’s why we’re here, putting books and programs in neighborhoods where they’ll make a real difference,” said Herman.

In his comments, Marx praised the partnership as the “latest example of how we can bring reliable, important information to our communities.” 

One in five New Yorkers have been identified as suffering from a mental health condition, according to boilerplate statistics provided by ThriveNYC. Data from the Health Resources & Services Administration compiled in October 2018 shows Fordham has a shortage of 17 mental health care professionals to meet the current population demand.

The initiative has faced intense backlash over the last year, with experts arguing the sums of money spent on the initiative over the last five years–a total of $1 billion–have not produced the kind of positive results these figures should yield.