URGENT ADVOCACY NEEDED
Help make progress on mental health crisis care
By next July, 988*, a 3-digit number for suicidal and mental health crises, will be available nationwide. Making it easier to call for help in a crisis is important, but what help will be available on the other end?
 
 
Thanks to thousands of mental health advocates, Congress is recognizing that people in mental health crisis deserve a mental health response. But we need to ensure that more crisis services are in place in the next 12 months before 988 goes live so that people receive the help they need, when they need it.
This week, the House Appropriations Committee is advancing a bill for the 2022 fiscal year (FY). This bill is an important step toward reimagining crisis response in our country. The bill:

  • Doubles the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) ($1.6B, up from $757M in FY 2021), which gives federal funds to states to provide community mental health services, like early intervention programs, outpatient treatment and peer supports
  • Increases the crisis services set aside in the Mental Health Block Grant ($160M, up from $37.5M in FY 2021), which will provide your state with federal funding to invest in life-saving services like local 24/7 crisis call centers (“someone to talk to”), mobile crisis teams (“someone to respond”), and crisis stabilization programs (“somewhere to go”)
  • Creates a NEW grant program for mobile crisis teams ($100M for FY 2022) to help jumpstart communities’ ability to ensure a person experiencing a crisis is met by mental health providers rather than law enforcement

We need your help. The full U.S. House of Representatives will be considering this bill soon. Reach out to your Representative and urge them to vote YES on increased resources for mental health crisis services in the FY 2022 spending bill.
 
Add a personal story to your email about your experience with crisis services to make more of an impact with your Representative.
 *988 will not be available nationwide until July 2022, but if you or somebody you know is in crisis now, get help by texting “NAMI” to 741741 or calling the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Meredith Masin Blount
Executive Director

Mark T. Williams
President