Dianetics Volunteers Bring Mental Health Outreach to New York Streets and Subways

NEW YORK, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hubbard Dianetics Foundation at the Church of Scientology of New York held a mental health outreach across New York City in early March, offering free stress tests and copies of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard at locations including Herald Square, the Times Square–42nd Street subway station and Harlem.

The outreach drew a broad cross-section of New Yorkers and visitors alike. Teenagers and retirees, postal workers and business owners, locals and visitors from Algeria, Ecuador, Indonesia, India and several European countries stopped at the tables. As temperatures dropped, the team continued the outreach in the subway system, where volunteers offered stress tests to rush-hour commuters, musicians from a nearby Ecuadorian band, and a man whose interest was renewed in a copy of Dianetics his grandfather had given him years earlier.

Many participants shared personal stresses and challenges they wanted to address. A woman whose family calls her "Figure it out Michelle" because she holds everything together said she was glad to have a new tool to help her do so. A man who described feeling as though his world was ending whenever something went wrong said he saw Dianetics as a way to change that. A 60-year-old man, shaken after learning that his brother had been shot and hospitalized, received the book and took part in an introductory Dianetics session.

Volunteers said they were motivated by their own positive experiences with the book. When a young Algerian woman requested an Arabic copy, one volunteer ran 12 blocks and returned with the edition before she came back from an errand. Dianetics is available in 50 languages.

"Once people see what is really bothering them and talk about it, they often want to improve their mental health," said Marty Gottlieb, a Dianetics volunteer. "I've lived in New York all my life and have seen people facing all kinds of problems. It is rewarding to see people recognize what is holding them back and take steps to address it."

Now in its 75th year, Dianetics has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide. The New York outreach was part of a coordinated global effort spanning 50 countries and more than 250 cities.

The Hubbard Dianetics Foundation holds Dianetics Seminars weekly at the Church of Scientology of New York for those interested in doing something to take control of their mental health.

For more information, visit www.dianetics.org.

SOURCE Church of Scientology International