Mental health and substance abuse support programs in Pennsylvania are reeling and worried about the future after the federal government recently cut their funding and then quickly reversed the cuts.
Marisa Vicere is the president and founder of the Jana Marie Foundation, a mental health and suicide prevention nonprofit in State College. She remembers running suicide prevention trainings at three schools on Tuesday, January 13.
“And (I) went home at night, checked my email before bed," Vicere said. "And around 9:57 I received an email that had shared that our grant was cut.”
Vicere said that email, from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said the funding cut was effective immediately. Vicere said the Jana Marie Foundation would have lost about $130,000, or about one third of their budget.
“It was really shocking," Vicere said. "And so then it's kind of panic mode of, you know, we're in the schools, we're running these programs, our youth depend on us, our families that come here depend on us, and so how are we going to fill these gaps from that funding?"
NPR reports those letters went out nationwide, canceling more than $2 billion of federal funding. The letters said the mental health and addiction programs didn’t align with the Trump administration’s public health agenda.
The next day, following widespread backlash, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent notices that the funding would be reinstated.
But Vicere said she’s worried the grants could be suddenly revoked again. She’s encouraging people to reach out to their representatives.
“Let them know that this funding matters, that taking care of mental health and substance use prevention programs really do make a big difference in our community, and the funding needs to be more than reinstated," Vicere said. "It needs to be protected.”
Since their federal funding was revoked and reinstated, Vicere said the community donated $20,000 and shared testimonials of how the nonprofit has helped them. She said that community support is vital as the need for their service grows.
Last year, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded more than $300 million to Pennsylvania organizations. That includes Penn State, Juniata College, Blair Drug & Alcohol Partnerships and the Guidance Center in Bradford.
