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���������� Note: More coverage of Tuesday’s Assembly hearing that featured a strong presentation from the Coalition for Behavioral Health’s Nadia Chait that tied state cuts to an expected rise in avoidable increases in very tragic suicide and overdose rates. The Coalition, ���������� and our colleague groups are increasingly mounting calls for ‘revenue raisers’ that would fend off turning the current ‘temporary’ 20% withholds into lasting and devastating cuts.

���������� Mental Health Providers Warn Lawmakers Cuts Will Be ‘Devastating’
At COVID-19 Hearing, Providers Say Investments In System Will Help Prevent Rising Suicides, Overdoses
By Bethany Bump  Albany Times Union  September 8, 2020

Providers spoke during a virtual hearing organized by the state Assembly’s mental health committee, which sought to examine the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on these vulnerable populations. Chairwoman Aileen Gunther encouraged speakers to offer ideas for assisting these groups moving forward, and the overwhelming response was that aid must be restored and even bolstered in order to mitigate fallout from one of the nation’s worst mental health crises to date.

“Studies have found after the Great Recession that a 1 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate led to a 1.6% increase in the suicide rate and a 3.6% increase in the opioid overdose rate,” said Nadia Chait, associate director of policy and advocacy for the Coalition for Behavioral Health. “We can prevent those deaths but we have to take action now and invest in the system now, instead of cutting the system at this very vulnerable time for our fellow residents.”

The state Budget Division confirmed in June it would be “withholding” the aid as it awaited clarity on a federal relief package designed to offset a massive pandemic-induced revenue loss. That package had yet to manifest as of early September, forcing local governments and school districts to plan for and implement deep spending cuts and layoffs.

Meanwhile, nonprofits that contract with state and local governments to deliver mental health and addiction services noted during Tuesday’s hearing that they have already been hit hard by the financial blowback of the pandemic, and are operating on razor-thin margins that leave little room for further aid cuts.

Chait said the providers her coalition represents have stopped filling staff vacancies and anticipate program closures, layoffs and service reductions should the cuts become permanent.

She and others encouraged state lawmakers to pursue “revenue raisers” (many have proposed a wealth tax) as a solution to the state’s multibillion-dollar budget hole, rather than cutting services relied on by already marginalized and vulnerable ����������ers.

“We also want to emphasize that these cuts — at a time when we have been reckoning with the racism that has been built into our country — will fall disproportionately on the communities that have been hardest hit by both COVID and racism, because those are the communities that need these services the most at this time,” Chait said.

State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Ann Marie Sullivan testified during the hearing and shared statistics that underscore some of those disparities.

OMH surveyed 6,000 clients and found that 22.3 percent who identified as Hispanic reported experiencing challenges in three or more aspects of their life — such as housing, income, employment, food and so on — as a result of the pandemic, she said. That’s compared to 13.5 percent of Black clients and 13.4 percent of white clients.

Meanwhile,  found that the percentage of people who admitted to seriously considering suicide in the previous 30 days was significantly higher among Hispanic and Black survey-takers (18.6% and 15.1%, respectively) than it was among whites (7.9%). It was even higher among essential workers (21.7%), who are also more likely to be Black and Hispanic.

Sullivan said her office is doing specialized outreach to these communities to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention resources.
Andrea Smyth, executive director of the NYS Coalition for Children’s Behavioral Health, said it would also help to boost diversity among the state’s behavioral health workforce, of which only 20 percent are Black or Hispanic, she said.
Smyth and other speakers also expressed concern about the “staggering” number of  throughout the pandemic.  referenced by Sullivan found that more than a quarter of young people age 18 to 24 had considered suicide in the previous 30 days — higher than any other age group.

Smyth recommended the state direct more resources toward school-based mental health clinics, which were already on the rise before the pandemic. Staffed by a licensed provider from the local community, the clinics operate directly on school campuses and are typically open one or more days a week at schools for students experiencing mental health troubles or teachers who’d like to make referrals or seek advice.

“School-based mental health can be expanded right now,” she said. “Guess why? The kids aren’t in school buildings. There’s actually space — which is the biggest barrier to school-based mental health. We could finally have space for kids to be seen in person in school buildings because the rest of the school isn’t operating or may be operating remotely.”

Sullivan said she’s particularly excited for 2022, when the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will change from its current 10-digit number . Not only will this be easier for the general public to remember, she said, but it can also be used as an alternative to calling the police, who are already overburdened with mental health calls.

“I think that will be a big change maker,” she said.

Until then, anyone experiencing mental or emotional distress can contact the Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. ���������� also continues to operate a COVID-19 Emotional Support Helpline, which can be reached at 1-844-864-9314.