Meeting Announcement

Details: Please join us on Monday, November 17, from 3-4 pm, EST, for a remote Q&A Discussion during which we hear and learn from speakers with a range of experience and expertise relevant to the Workgroup's mission and goals. 

We are delighted that Chacku Mathai will be joining us to talk about the Daniel’s Law Taskforce. Established in response to the death of 41-year-old Daniel Prude in 2020, the Daniel’s Law Task Force was charged with developing recommendations to guide behavioral health crisis response and explore avenues for related diversion services. The task force first met in August 2024, gathered statewide input from communities, governmental entities, and the public on the best practices for engaging individuals in crisis. The task force also examined a variety of models –both national and international –that could be used in developing a crisis response system in New York State. A final report was submitted by the Task Force in December 2024. Read the full text of Daniel’s Law Task Force charge.

Chacku Mathai

Chacku (he/him) is an Indian-American, born in Kuwait, who became involved in consumer/survivor/ex-patient advocacy when he was 15 years old. Chacku’s personal experiences with racism and xenophobia-related trauma, suicide attempts, and disabling mental health and substance use conditions, including psychosis as a youth and young adult, launched Chacku and his family into advocacy efforts for alternative supports in the community, with a special emphasis on youth, young adults, and families of color. He has since accumulated over thirty-five years of experience in behavioral health systems transformation in a variety of leadership roles.

He is a founding board member and current President of Friends of Recovery – New York, a statewide coalition of people in recovery from addiction and ex-officio board member for National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA). He also serves as a board member for Hearing Voices Network – USA (HVN-USA). Chacku also volunteers as a member of the Daniel’s Law Coalition, HOPEFirstRoc crisis response, and as a board member and facilitator for HVN and Alternatives to Suicide groups.

Chacku is also an appointed member of the NYS Behavioral Health Services Advisory Committee (BHSAC) and the appointed Co-Chair for the Equity Committee of the BHSAC. He is also appointed to the New York State Senate to the Daniel’s Law Taskforce.