24 Hours of Chaos and Confusion

This week, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, or SAMHSA, sent out letters to many providers saying that grants for mental health treatment, substance abuse recovery, and suicide prevention were terminated. This prompted an immediate outcry and push back by the advocacy teams of multiple mental health organizations, and by Wednesday night the funding had been restored.

While it is good to see the administration reversing course so quickly, the 24 hours of chaos and confusion caused by the sudden cancellation reinstatement has some feeling uneasy and uncertain. What if this happens again?

After all, President Trump has been known to say that there should be changes made to some of these programs. He has also made it a priority to find and eliminate waste in the federal budget. While the federal agenda is of course his prerogative, we hope that future changes be made gradually. Such drastic changes to established front line programs endangers many.

In this divided political environment, it is unfortunate that some used this an excuse to make personal attacks on the President. While the policy decision was one that many organizations, including The LegalMind Society, opposed, it is also true that President Trump has shown a willingness to support mental health issues, such as the creation of 988 during his first term.

Indeed, mental illness knows know political party. On the contrary, this might be an area where bipartisan policy could be developed. We hope that this administration, this Congress, and mental health providers and NGO can all work together to improve mental health services and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, not just in the legal profession, but in general.

However, that starts with communication and transparency. As we said above, the 24 hours of chaos and confusion created by the termination and reinstatement of these grants lacked transparency that many would hope to see from the federal government when it comes to important policy making. We would also like to see a recommitment from both the White House and Congress when it comes to mental health issues. Here, we can all do our part to push for such affirmative commitments by reaching out to our elected officials and telling them we support funding and federal support for mental health.