In June 2020, Kamal Johnson, Mayor of the City of Hudson, New York, sought to reform the City’s criminal justice system in response to the murder of George Floyd. Among his goals was implementation of reforms intended to reduce policing of people in a mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) related crisis, typically due to poorly or untreated symptoms of the disease (the “target population”).

Thereafter, in July 2020, the City partnered with the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice (“Greenburger Center”) to facilitate the Transitions to Treatment Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force used the “Sequential Intercept Model” (SIM) mapping process to identify the County’s services and service gaps related to the treatment and care of the target population.

On May 18, 2021, the Task Force released the SIM Report which included a recommendation to develop the Columbia County Wellness Hub on a 5-acre parcel of land strategically located near other City and County services. The Wellness Hub will include an emergency shelter, supportive housing and other services to support the target population.

A summary of the SIM Report and Full Report is available here: