The Institute for Family Health and CASES Team Up to Care for Ex-Offenders in Harlem

New York, NY (February 15, 2016) – The Institute for Family Health and the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES) have teamed up to offer integrated primary health care services to CASES clients. Initially, the program will provide integrated primary care onsite at CASES Nathaniel Clinic in Central Harlem one session a week, and will grow as needed.

CASES is an “Alternative to Incarceration” program that has been in operation for nearly 50 years. CASES Nathaniel Clinic serves felony offenders, offering comprehensive mental health and integrated substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation, case management, court advocacy and reporting, and monitored linkages to housing and social services.

“We are very excited to work with CASES, as they provide necessary and effective service to New Yorkers transitioning from the corrections system back into the community. This collaboration allows us to target this critically important yet often marginalized population and offer them high quality integrated primary care,” said Dr. Neil Calman, president and CEO of the Institute for Family Health.

This collaboration comes at a time when Mayor de Blasio and First Lady McCray are placing a strong emphasis – through ThriveNYC – on a more effective and holistic system to support the mental well-being of all New Yorkers.

“The Institute for Family Health is well known for both its excellence in primary care and as a leader in providing primary care integrated with behavioral health treatment. CASES shares this commitment to integrated care based on an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between consumers’ physical and mental health. We quickly recognized that a partnership with the Institute would provide significant benefits for the clients in Central Harlem,” said Samara Harris, LCSW, Team Leader, CASES Nathaniel Clinic.

Ms. Harris added that CASES was recently awarded a grant from SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to partner with the Institute to provide these much needed services.