Mental Health Program For National Guard, Reservists Faces Budget Cut

List this as dumb to cut funds for National Guards and Reservists after all these years of hard work to even come close to taking care of them and even dumber when you think that it will come at a time when there are more veterans needing mental healthcare.

Mental Health Program For National Guard, Reservists Faces Budget Cut
BY Peggy McCarthy | FEB 28, 2011 10:00 PM


Posted to: Eye on Veterans

Because of money problems, the state is cutting its groundbreaking counseling and support program for National Guard soldiers, Reservists and their families, according to Jim Tackett, director of Veterans Services in the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

This comes at a time when officials had hoped to expand the program to also include enlisted Armed Forces and families, he said.

The program, called the Connecticut Military Support Program (MSP), was the first of its kind in the country when it was established in 2007 and is still considered unique, but is running out of money.

The commissioner of mental health has helped by allocating up to $175,000 from the department budget to keep it operating another year, but that and what remains from the original funding won’t pay for the existing level of services, Tackett said.

The program was started to help deployed Connecticut National Guard members, Reservists, and their families deal with mental health and substance abuse problems, usually referred to as “behavioral health.” Some issues they face include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), marital problems, arrests for driving under the influence, separation issues faced by children, and stress resulting from war zone service and home coming.
read more here
Mental Health Program For National Guard, Reservists Faces Budget Cut