Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY)

In New York City, more than 1.8 million residents live with a documented disability.

Data suggests that adults with disabilities are four to five times more likely to experience psychological distress than those without disabilities. Despite this need, New Yorkers with disabilities face complex barriers to receiving timely and appropriate mental health care. The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY) is filling this gap with a New York State-approved continuing education training for licensed mental health providers across the State on how to serve people with disabilities better. In 2020, CIDNY launched its “Reassurance Program,” which conducts peer and staff-led wellness calls for isolated New Yorkers with disabilities. The program screens individuals for emotional distress and assesses their health and social needs, connecting them to essential services. To date, CIDNY has provided support to 15,000 New Yorkers, more than 3,800 of whom have psychiatric disabilities, including mood, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and trauma-related disorders. To address these needs, CIDNY recently expanded the program through a pilot to integrate group-based cognitive behavioral therapy treatment. Early demand has exceeded capacity, and it is now ready to scale the model. In 2025, NYHealth awarded CIDNY a grant to expand a community-based mental health model for people with disabilities. 

Under this grant, CIDNY will expand access to geographically isolated individuals and others who are disconnected from care. It will partner with mental health providers and independent living centers to identify participants and conduct annual check-in calls, offering emotional support, benefits navigation, and referrals to housing, food, and health services. The program will scale cognitive therapy-based group sessions for people with disabilities using hybrid formats and connect participants to more intensive mental health care through formal partnerships with clinics and hospitals. CIDNY will evaluate its impact and share tools and recommendations to replicate and sustain the model across New York City.