By JIM MERRITT
Guest Columnist
We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. September is Pain Awareness Month. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. September is National Recovery Month.
Leaders in the behavioral health field recognize the ongoing mental health crisis Hoosiers are facing now. Specifically, young people, minority populations, and indigent communities are at highest risk. The pandemic will leave deep scars on these underserved populations for years to come.
For example, Indiana currently ranks as the sixth worst state in the nation for youth experiencing a severe major depressive episode in the past year. We have three counties in the top 12 nationally reporting the highest percentage of thoughts regarding suicide or self-harm.
There is a great responsibility for schools, businesses, and governmental entities to value individuals’ mental health and wellbeing. Today, in Indiana, we are seeing more and more community stakeholders accept this responsibility. As hopefully you have seen, the Irsay Family and the Indianapolis Colts have championed a new initiative called “Kicking the Stigma.”
This comprehensive initiative was created to shed light and raise awareness on mental illness. During Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2021, the Indianapolis Colts and Irsay Family raised $4.5 million for the effort.
Kicking the Stigma Week was centered around influential Colts players and notable stars speaking out on mental health in an effort to end the shame and stigma associated with mental health conditions and addictive disorders. The Colts have partnered with four non-profit organizations that have a local footprint, including Mental Health America of Indiana, NAMI Indianapolis, Project Healthy Minds, and Bring Change to Mind. Mental Health stigma reduction is critical, but is only a first step on the path of mental health systems change in Indiana.
Mental health advocates and policy makers made great strides during the 2021 Indiana legislative session. An increase in funding for the Indiana behavioral health field is expected to be one of the biggest victories this year for those working at the Indiana State House.
In the last legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly fully funded the work of the Drug Czar at $10 million for the coming biennium, appropriated $100 million in federal rescue funds to FSSA for mental health, and another $50 million to the Department of Health for health grants. They also created a fund for the Opioid Settlement for the prevention, education, and treatment of Opioid Use Disorder and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. In addition, Indiana was one of only four states that passed legislation in response to federal law creating the 9-8-8 crisis helpline.
Mental health is health. We have a mental health bubble ready to burst in our state. It is all hands on deck to prevent an incredible agony that is descending on Hoosiers. Each of us has the power to create a society where seeking mental health care is as common as going to the dentist.