CT in Crisis Mental Health Symposium Calls for Increased Funding and Staffing

State legislators and Governor Lamont were called upon to urgently increase funding and services this year for the rising mental health and addiction crisis in Connecticut during COVID.

Titled “Connecticut in Crisis,” the half day symposium was organized by the Recovery for All coalition and SEIU District 1199NE. Panelists shared experiences and called for the expansion of mental health and addiction staffing and services for youth and adults.

The context of the symposium was the fact that “Residents in Connecticut agree on the crucial importance of providing robust mental health and addiction services to everyone no matter where they live, what they look like, or how much money they have. But as the global pandemic continues to ravage our state – thereby exacerbating Connecticut’s extreme racial, economic, and gender inequities – thousands of people in our communities are struggling through an unprecedented mental health crisis.”

The broad variety of organizations came together to envision the best possible system to save lives, guarantee equity and take on the challenge of mental health and addiction services for youth and adults. Panelists discussed how the staffing crises in the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Children and Families have hollowed out critical services especially for Black and brown communities.

Speakers highlighted he critical role public sector mental health services play in advancing racial equity, because Black and brown serviced recipients depend on them as a crucial safety net and because Black and brown workers depend on them as a crucial pathway to economic stability.

The conference called upon Governor Lamont to meet the urgency of the moment by committing to end contraction and instead expand staffing for the continuum of mental health services to children and adults available to all, irregardless of zip code or economic status.

Speakers included President Pro Tem Martin Looney, Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, Middletown City Councilman and DCF worker Darnell Ford, and providers, recipients, and advocates of mental health services, including SEIU 1199NE, Unidad Latina en Acción, New Britain Racial Justice Coalition, Transitions Clinic, Disability Rights Connecticut, Keep the Promise, CT Justice Alliance, National Association of Social Workers, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and CT Legal Rights Project.