As demand for mental health care spikes in the West, budget ax is set to strike – By Matt Volz (Kaiser Health News) / Feb 6 2021
Some cuts to Colorado’s mental health budgets have been restored, but providers still are worried.
HELENA, Mont. — When the pandemic hit, health officials in Montana’s Beaverhead County had barely begun to fill a hole left by the 2017 closure of the local public assistance office, mental health clinic, chemical dependency center and job placement office after the state’s last budget shortfall.
Now, those health officials worry more cuts are coming, even as they brace for a spike in demand for substance abuse and mental health services. That would be no small challenge in a poor farming and ranching region where stigma often prevents people from admitting they need help, said Katherine Buckley-Patton, who chairs the county’s Mental Health Local Advisory Council.
“I find it very challenging to find the words that will not make one of my hard-nosed cowboys turn around and walk away,” Buckley-Patton said. “They’re lonely, they’re isolated, they’re depressed, but they’re not going to call a suicide hotline.”
CONTINUE > https://coloradosun.com/2021/02/06/mental-health-care-demand-budget-cuts/
