Hoosiers: Don't struggle alone, connect to help
Hoosiers who struggle with mental health issues were really hit hard by the pandemic, whether it was being isolated from their regular support groups or inability to access critical resources.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 38% of Hoosier adults reported symptoms of anxiety and depression in February 2021, and 19% were unable to get needed counseling or therapy. They also report 90,000 Hoosiers age 12-17 have depression, and 54% of them did not receive any care for their symptoms in the last year.
Some of the biggest barriers to treatment are costs and lack of access to mental health professionals. To help address these issues, I supported funding in the state's two-year budget passed in 2021 to increase support for local mental health service providers.
The Community Catalyst Grant Program recently distributed $54.8 million to support 37 programs statewide to help enhance the quality of and access to mental health and substance abuse treatment services, include two providers serving local Hoosiers. The total funding amount includes $22.3 million in local and grantee matching dollars, and $32.5 million in state funding.
Locally, Families Forever serving Lawrence County received $500,000 to expand current programming, including extending program hours, boosting peer recovery services, providing person-centered case management for individuals in need, and increasing trauma-informed care and recovery programming.
Indiana University Health South Central Indiana serves Brown, Lawrence, Monroe and Orange counties. They received $700,000 to increase access to high-quality, integrated mental health, and substance use disorder treatment and recovery services across the lifespan through family-based group therapy, intensive outpatient therapy for adolescents, and group therapy for women during the perinatal period.
Additionally, Hoosiers needing immediate mental health assistance can now call 988 to connect with a trained crisis specialist from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at any time. Over time, plans are to expand this critical service to include response teams and locations where people can go for help.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Division of Mental Health and Addiction also formed a partnership with Riley Children's Hospital to provide mental health services at pediatric primary care offices across the state. Other funding includes workforce stabilization grants to community mental health centers, and more than $4 million to the Indiana University School of Medicine to fund training and fellowships for psychiatrists, and internships for psychology students.
A full listing of Indiana's mental health and addiction resources can be found online at in.gov/fssa/dmha. Providing more support for these services is crucial to our state's overall health, and will lead to more positive outcomes for all Hoosiers.
State Rep. Chris May (R-Bedford) represents House District 65, which includes all of Brown County, most of Lawrence County and parts of Monroe, Jackson and Johnson counties.