Bipolar Me

On Wednesday, it was gone. On Thursday, it was back. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?

Many of us were stunned (if not exactly surprised) when it was announced that federal funding for mental health and addiction services was going to be cut dramatically. After all, other public health agencies have seen their budgets slashed and their grants revoked. It seemed to be only a matter of time until mental health resources were hit. And so it was.

Late this past Tuesday (as in 10:30 p.m.), the Trump administration said it would be cutting approximately $2 billion from programs that deal with mental health services and addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The news went out from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the federal agency that oversees these programs, late in the day. The faxed letter about the cuts got to the press from agency employees who remained anonymous.

The New York Times reported that the cuts “would be effective immediately,” explaining only that the services no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities. The letter described those priorities as being to support “innovative programs and interventions that address the rising rates of mental illness and substance abuse conditions, overdose, and suicide.” Among the programs affected would be drug courts, screening and referral services, and other important initiatives serving youth and pregnant and postpartum women. It was a little confusing, as the SAMHSA agency was designed to do that.

NAMI had an immediate response. CEO Daniel H. Gillison said, “These abrupt and unjustified cuts will immediately disrupt suicide prevention efforts, family and peer recovery support, overdose prevention and treatment, and mental health awareness and education programming, along with so many more essential services, putting an unknown number of lives at stake.” He added, “These aren’t just numbers on paper. These are decisions that have real and harmful consequences for millions of people and communities around the country.” A dozen or more NAMI programs instantly lost funding. Among the programs affected would be “numerous education programs, including one that offers mental health training to school staff in grades kindergarten through 12.”

These funding cuts were apparently made without consulting Congress, who are working on an appropriations package, scheduled for the end of the month, that also addresses mental health and addiction services. Members of Congress lobbied strongly against the cuts.

Then, less than 24 hours later, the cuts were canceled, and funding was restored. No explanation was given; the cuts were simply made to disappear. They had been particularly unsettling after President Trump reauthorized the SUPPORT Act in December. It had funded programs for addiction and mental health, including some of the programs that were cut this week.

At the end of January, Congress is supposed to consider a major funding package that includes money for SAMHSA. What it will include appears still to be up in the air.

I guess we’ll see. And be ready to protest, just in case.