Advocacy:

MENTAL HEALTH & VIRGINIA’S FISCAL CHALLENGES:
A Statement By The Mental Health Coalition

(The Mental Health Coalition is an organization of professionals and organizations involved in mental health, mental illness and substance abuse issues in the central Shenandoah Valley area.  This statement was sent to elective officials on behalf of the group. Statement issued 12/2010.)

Virginia is in the middle of a fiscal crisis, and the Commonwealth’s needs are undeniably great.  It is a time for taking a hard look at those needs, for setting priorities.  Clearly those needs that are causing real and direct physical or mental pain to individual Virginians - and wasting lives - should have the highest priority.  But, too often, in times of budget stress, political considerations promote large expenditures bringing small benefit to many, or great benefit to a few popular causes.  Tragically, expenditures to ease pain and save lives are often pushed to the back, to be illogically equated with other routine state needs.

Several years ago, Virginia had established minimal funding for the very real needs of those with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and substance abuse issues.  The funding was not enough, but it had begun to meet some of the absolutely basic, no-frills, minimal treatment and services for this vulnerable population.  Today that very minimal funding level is gone.  Some services crucial to the treatment and recovery of these illnesses and conditions have been terminated.  Programs that relieve pain and restore lives have vanished – or been cut dramatically.  People who are disabled or ill have been and will continue to be hurt, to be in pain, to be captive within their conditions or - unnecessarily - within costly hospital rooms or jail cells. 

Given the sudden impact of the recession on the Commonwealth’s finances, it is unfortunate but understandable why drastic cuts were made across the state budget. However, it is imperative that crucial, minimal funding be restored to the treatment of those with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and substance abuse issues as quickly as possible.  Not only is this a truly human need that should take priority over more material maintenance and sevice enhancement needs, it is also a need that, if not met, will significantly increase other state expenses in the immediate future.

Failure to respond to the pain and to the waste of lives of those with behavioral health treatment needs not only keeps these ill persons dependent on the state, it substantially increases the burden on local medical hospitals and on the justice and correctional systems.  Parks, pavement and protecting the environment are important: very real human pain and human lives are more important.  Period.

Physical illness and mental illness have the same capacity to bring pain, suffering, wasted lives and even death.  Vast changes in physical medicine programs have been made or are being shaped right now across the state and nation.  Mental illness programs continue to lag in both attention and funding.  Perhaps this attention and funding gap stems from antiquated views on the nature of mental illness, or the tragic stigma that dogs those suffering from mental illnesses or disabilities.  We don’t know why the gap exists, we just know that it does.

As members of the mental health community, we pledge to continue working to serve this vulnerable population, and to educate the public about the need for a mental health system every bit as strong as our general medical system.  We ask that you work to restore funding to programs and services for those with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and substance abuse issues as soon as possible, giving them the high priority they deserve.  And we ask that you continue to monitor Virginia’s programs in this area with a focus not on saving money, but on serving the mentally ill and disabled.