Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren this week joined a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) in urging members of Congress to adopt comprehensive legislation to address the mental health crisis.
The push follows a powerful new survey from 117 cities that paints a stark picture of mental health challenges in America. For example, 97% of responding mayors said they saw an increase in requests for mental health services, while only 12% said that their residents had adequate access to services.
“The mental health crisis is real and impacting individuals and families across our country. At the same time, the healthcare system cannot adequately address this crisis, and communities such as ours need help in the form of bold new legislation,” Mayor Warren said.
The Conference of Mayors is asking that flexible federal resources be made directly available to cities, giving mayors the capacity to develop programs and policies tailored to their community needs.
Among the sobering statistics included in the Conference’s research: 50% of mental illness begins between the ages of 12 and 14. In the meantime, the median wait for treatment is 11 years from the onset of symptoms.
“We would not stand for that kind of delay in treating cardiology or some other medical illness,” Mayor Warren said.
Some policies and approaches Mayor Warren and the Conference of Mayors who like to see Congress address:
- Enforceable and greater parity between mental health and medical health treatment.
- A national plan to increase the number of mental health professionals from psychiatrists to social workers.
- Direct assistance to cities to develop more comprehensive mental health and substance use disorders treatment facilities, including capital resources for telehealth systems.
- Direct assistance to cities for more and earlier interventions and placement in continuum of care.
- Increases in the number of school counselors/psychologists and social workers for our youth, including expanded youth activities.
- Expanded co-response between police and mental health professionals.
Fontana has been a leader in promoting public health, from its Healthy Fontana initiative to, more recently, the opening of the Arrowhead Fontana Family Health Center – Mammography unit.