Many people look forward to the holidays, but for others this season can feel heavy. Stress, loneliness, disrupted routines, financial pressure, and uncertainty about daily needs can make mental health symptoms much worse. Behavioral health providers across the Hudson Valley are seeing this every day, and they note that unmet basic needs often sit beneath the surface of anxiety, depression, or substance use struggles.
“People come to us with one need, but their needs are multifaceted and multilayered,” said Seth Diamond, Board Chair of the Hudson Valley Care Coalition’s (HVCC) Behavioral Health Independent Practice Association (IPA) and CEO of Westchester Jewish Community Services, an IPA member. “The mental health struggles are tied to worries about their kids in school, tied to their need to have food on the table, tied to economic concerns. Everything is interconnected.”
This blog explains how the HVCC Behavioral Health IPA and the Social Care Network (SCN) work together. It also explains how Medicaid members can get screened for support and how providers can help people access services during the holiday season.
What the HVCC Behavioral Health IPA Does
HVCC’s Behavioral Health IPA brings together twenty-seven behavioral health agencies across seven counties. These organizations provide mental health treatment, substance use services, developmental disability support, case management, and community programs for adults and children.
The IPA includes a Care Connection team that helps individuals get matched with the right provider. “We can screen individuals for services and connect them quickly to the care they need,” said Nicole Wilner, Chief Administrative Officer, HVCC Behavioral Health IPA.
The IPA can provide care by:
- Helping members find the right behavioral health provider
- Coordinating care across multiple agencies
- Supporting hospitals and clinics during discharge
- Bringing together providers who understand the needs of Medicaid members
- Strengthening the behavioral health workforce
This network approach is especially helpful during the holidays, when the need for mental health support increases.
What the Social Care Network (SCN) Provides
The Social Care Network focuses on the daily needs that strongly affect mental health, such as:
- Access to food and nutrition
- Safe and stable housing
- Transportation
- Household safety
- Social care navigation
If someone screens positive for a health-related social need, the SCN can help connect them to a provider that offers the right service.
This is important right now because many families are dealing with reduced benefits and economic uncertainty. “People are scared and many are losing services,” Wilner said. “We want people to know that the Social Care Network may still be able to help. The first step is getting screened.”
How Daily Needs Affect Mental Health During the Holidays
Providers across the IPA say that basic needs often overshadow the progress people are trying to make in therapy.
Diamond explained it clearly. “If you have a great session with your therapist and then walk out the door not knowing how you will put food on the table that night, the stress of everyday life overwhelms the progress you hoped to make.”
Some of the most common issues providers see include:
- Worsening anxiety about housing
- Food insecurity
- Fear of losing Medicaid or SNAP
- Increased isolation
- Pressure to provide for children
- Higher risk of relapse for people managing substance use
Every one of these concerns becomes more intense between November and January.
Why Screening Helps Both Medicaid Members and Providers
For members, screening is the easiest way to find out if you qualify for additional support.
For behavioral health providers, screening is a way to support the whole person and reduce the barriers that affect treatment.
Diamond encourages providers to make screening routine. “Your clients need it. If you are only addressing what brought them in that day, it is the tip of the iceberg. You will have greater success when you help connect people to the supports that stabilize the rest of their lives.”
Wilner added that many agencies are already doing this work informally. Screening helps them document the need, make referrals through a structured system, and get reimbursed for services they are already trying to provide.
How to Get Screened for Social Care Support
Anyone who is on Medicaid can ask to be screened for health-related social needs. There is no cost to be screened, and the process is simple.
Members can get screened by contacting:
- Their behavioral health provider
- Any organization in the HVCC Behavioral Health IPA
- HVCC’s Care Connection Specialists
Providers can complete screenings during appointments or at any point when someone shares that they are struggling with food, transportation, or housing.
A Supportive Message for the Season
The holiday season can make emotional challenges feel even heavier, but no one should face these struggles alone. The HVCC Behavioral Health IPA and the Social Care Network are working together so families can access mental health care, food and housing support, transportation, and other services that improve wellbeing.
If you are enrolled in Medicaid and need support, ask for a screening.
If you are a provider, make screening part of your regular care.
Together, the community can move into the new year with greater stability, connection, and hope.
