Mental health advocates say cuts to state safety net are deadly serious

Officials in charge of Georgia’s mental health safety net offered dire predictions after the governor ordered nearly all state agencies to slash spending.

People suffering from mental illnesses would land in the emergency room, they said. And more people contemplating suicide would act on those impulses.

Those same officials with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities later softened that alarming language and so still plan to yank $10.6 million from a new program state lawmakers funded last year to provide mental health intervention services in communities across Georgia.

Those who care for or interact with fragile people in crisis say department officials got it right the first time.

Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/2020/02/17/mental-health-advocates-say-cuts-to-state-safety-net-are-deadly-serious/