Providers and advocates point to legislative solutions to address persistent underfunding and worker shortages BY: EVAN POPP - NOVEMBER 15, 2023 5:21 AM There are numerous bills passed by the legislature that have yet to receive funding that advocates say would shore up the state’s mental health system. (Getty Images) Maine’s mental health care system is fractured and scattered, with chronic underfunding and gaps in services that prevent many from accessing the care ... Read More ›
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After mass shooting, problems with Maine’s mental healthcare system come into focus: Experts say waitlists for programs are long, many workers have left the state.
By Mary Kekatos November 10, 2023, 5:11 AM Click here for full article People gather at a vigil in Lisbon, Maine, for the victims of this week's mass shootings, Oct. 28, 2023. Matt Rourke/AP In the more than two weeks since a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, occurred at a bowling alley and local bar and restaurant, questions have swirled about mental health care in the state. The alleged gunman displayed glaring signals that his mental health was declining, ... Read More ›
President Biden’s visit prompts Mainers’ cries for mental health relief
https://wgme.com/news/local/president-bidens-visit-prompts-cries-for-mental-health-relief "LEWISTON (WGME) -- Many Mainers will be feeling anxiety, grief and paranoia for weeks and months to come, given the traumatic events that unfolded on October 25. If you seek help to cope, you could be waiting months to be seen by a mental health professional. Maine's behavioral health community, in the wake of the worst mass shooting in state history, is asking President Joe Biden to deploy ... Read More ›
Alliance Statement on the Lewiston Tragedy
Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the tragedy that occurred in Lewiston yesterday, and to all of those continuing to work to bring this situation to a close. As providers of behavioral health care services across the state of Maine, the members of the Alliance want to make sure that people understand that resources are available to all those in need of support, reassurance, guidance, and direct care. It is not uncommon for individuals and communities as a whole to experience grief ... Read More ›
Maine needs to devote more resources to mental health
A lone, socially-distanced figure stands at the end of a dock jutting out into Portland Harbor on Thursday Jan. 14, 2021. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set newsroom policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com. Malory Shaughnessy is the executive director of the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services. Betsy Sweet is senior policy advocate for the Behavioral ... Read More ›
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Malory Shaughnessy, Executive Director, Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health, Maine. 207-400-1540, mshaughnessy@masap.org Betsy Sweet, Senior Policy Advocate, Maine’s Behavioral Health Community Collaborative. 207-441-3060, betsysweet@aol.com Governor Mills Signs Proclamation Supporting the Movement to Prioritize Mental Health May is Mental Health Awareness Month Augusta, Maine - May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time when ... Read More ›
Our View: Give young psychiatric patients somewhere to go
Legislating for new mental health facilities may not sit well with everyone. We should be far more uncomfortable with the alternative: leaving vulnerable young Mainers hanging in the balance. No measures should be off limits when it comes to the restoration and repair of Maine’s failing mental health services – and that includes creative legislative proposals like the one sponsored by state Sen. Russell Black. In response to the crisis of young patients languishing in hospital rooms ... Read More ›
15 states receive grants to plan Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration yesterday awarded 15 states $1 million grants to plan and apply to participate in Medicaid’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic demonstration. Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia received the grants, authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 to expand the eight-state Medicaid ... Read More ›
Schools across the country say more students are asking for mental health services
Schools across the country say more students are asking for mental health services By Abē Levine Published March 15, 2023 at 5:11 AM EDT LISTEN • 2:12 Full Report Here ... Read More ›
With the pandemic waning, it’s time to deal with drug and alcohol deaths, panel finds
By Susan Cover Maine PUBLISHED 2:11 PM ET Nov. 30, 2022 Gordon Smith’s office gets calls every day from people struggling to find help with substance use disorder. As the state’s director of opioid response, he hears from mothers and fathers who have lost a family member to an overdose. And he hears from those who try to get help, but can’t find it. “An individual was taken to the emergency department and after five hours was literally told we will get to you after ... Read More ›