Last week, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services hosted a listening session in Gloucester, hosted by Mayor Sefatia Romeo Thekken, on “Creating a Behavioral Health Ambulatory Treatment System.”
The city of Gloucester, and the Sixth Congressional District, has been hard-hit with a lack of resources and support services around mental health and substance use.
My family and I understand first-hand how crucial it is to get the help you need in times of a behavioral health crisis. In 2016, a comprehensive mental health reform bill was passed, that addressed infant, child, pregnant and postpartum women, as well as adults’ mental health and wellness.
Funding from this comprehensive mental health bill can make the difference in the health and wellness of our district and its communities.
What was stated loud and clear in Gloucester, is that our current behavioral health care systems don’t work, emergency rooms are not equipped to deal with mental health crises, there are not enough translators, beds are few and far between.
The current healthcare systems don’t communicate with each other and don’t have the resources they need to help individuals who are living with mental health and substance use challenges.
The state and the district needs reliable access to mental and behavioral health services, without being faced with shortages of services and crisis management. Our communities have gone for too long without sufficient resources, translators, beds and professionals. Behavioral health access is paramount to the health and wellness of our district.
I am encouraged by the work of the Office of Health and Human Services and their willingness to listen. Funding through HHS (Health and human services) around behavioral and substance use from the federal government, to our state, is crucial for the Commonwealth to support our communities, and deliver quality solutions and address disparities in the behavioral health treatment system.
Jamie Zahlaway Belsito
Candidate for United States Congress
6th Congressional District
