The American senator Mazie Hirono joined a group of democrats from the Senate by urging the Ministry of Health and Social Services to stop the discounts of endowment to the Administration of the Services of Toxicomia and Mental Health (SAMHSA), invoking concerns for mental health services across the country – including HawaiĘ»i.
In a letter to the HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the senators warned that additional cuts – up to 50% of the remaining Samhsa staff – would considerably weaken the country’s mental health infrastructure. The letter notes that the agency has already lost 10% of its workforce at the start of this year, including the staff responsible for suicide management and Crifeline from 9-8-8, a service supported by the federal government which responded to more than 14.5 million calls since its launch in July 2022.
“We are deeply disturbed that in the middle of mental health and the consumption of substances in our country, the Ministry of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) deemed good to reduce the agency responsible for the fight against these twin epidemics,” the senators wrote.
According to data Collected by Samhsa – which has since been removed from their website in response to the forecasting of Trump’s executive orders by deleting the mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion of federal agencies – members of the lowest mental health services community, the Hawaiian service and the Pacific of any racial / ethnic group. In 2021, around 77% of the Aanhpi community received no treatment to resolve any mental health problems, although he met the criteria to do so. In addition, suicide is currently the main cause of death for young Aanhpi aged 10 to 24.
The proposed personnel discounts follow a wider restructuring plan announcement By secretary Kennedy last week, who would dissolve Samhsa and merged his programs into a new “administration for a healthy America”. Critics say that this decision would undermine the essential services, such as the $ 7 billion dollars of Samhsa in mental health and subsidies to the consumption of substances to states, localities and tribes.
The legislators have also taken alarms about the closure of two regional offices of Samhsa serving the South and the Midwest, which, according to them, have already disrupted the surveillance of local care providers. The closures, according to senators, have left 14 states without direct access to regional support for mental health and substance consumption programs.
According to the national survey on drug use and health, nearly 49 million Americans over 12 have undergone a substance consumption disorder in 2023. 58.7 million adults reported a mental health. Suicide rates have increased by 36% in the past two decades, becoming one of the main causes of death for people aged 10 to 64.
The letter was led by Senators Hirono and Alex Padilla (D-CA), and signed by 11 other Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tina Smith (D-MN).
The full text of the letter is available here.