Over the past six years, our community has made mental health care more accessible for tens of thousands of Howard County children, families, and individuals. We've made 1:1 mental health counseling available to students in school, we ensured 988 call centers were available to help every resident in crisis 24/7 and we have provided wrap-around mental health services to kids and families who need them.

Now, this progress at risk. The state budget contains millions in cuts to mental health – cuts that will especially harm students who need mental health services more than ever. Mental health wrap around services in schools - including early screening and intervention, counseling services and more - won't be able to serve all the kids who need help. Community-based mental health clinics that serve families across the state will be hard-pressed to serve families who need them. And we must make sure 988 call centers get the funding they need to fully operate. Without this, dozens of counselors could lose their jobs, wait times for calls and texts would increase and Marylanders experiencing a behavioral health crisis would suffer further harm to themselves and others.

What does all of this mean? Unless we act now, mental health services could be drastically cut at every level – from screening and early intervention, to treatment, to crisis services.

Now is NOT the time to cut these life-saving services. Tell the Maryland General Assembly to restore and protect mental health funding today!