Garcia Wilburn comments on missed mental health investment opportunity

Upon the final passage of the state biennial budget, state Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn (D-Fishers) is disappointed to report that the final budget has only appropriated $50 million annually to fund Senate Bill 1, a mental health crisis response bill. Advocates estimated that setting up and operating the crisis response system laid out in the bill would cost $130 million annually, meaning that the final appropriation for it is only a little over a third of what it would take to completely fund the system.

“We have touted that we care about mental health all legislative session,” Garcia Wilburn said. “We gave Hoosiers hope that after nearly a decade of several organizations, everyday providers and associations advocating for change, help was coming. We all collectively exhaled because the Indiana General Assembly finally 'got it.'  

“Please let us not be fooled. Fully funding Senate Bill 1 would have finally allowed us to be serious in establishing critical community-based and community-in-place infrastructure for mental health care and access. We had this opportunity in 2016, with the help of federal dollars, but again we fell short—we fell terribly short. Instead, we have missed the mark again at the cost of Hoosiers. Some members of the General Assembly have been satisfied with missing the mark and I do hope they are held accountable.

“In my work as a researcher, I have met teens with compelling, heartbreaking stories of waiting for a provider for months, having to travel outside of the state for treatment. And trust me, these teens came from good families, faith-filled families, parents who would have gladly changed places with their teens if they could, so they could battle this disease of addiction for them. While I am speaking of parents, I am going to take this time, this opportunity, to use my voice, on behalf of the dozens of parents I have met with who are desperate, who have either lost a child to suicide, overdose, these parents who have met with you all, too. They have asked you with pain in their hearts and tears in their eyes to fully fund SB 1, and we have let them down.

“You have not deterred me. You have only inspired me. You have inspired me to work harder, try harder, be a better researcher. Because, my friends, being a mental health advocate was never a buzzword for me. It was not a hot topic or a timely political platform. Advancing access to mental health has been my life’s work. And I will continue to advocate for more support funding – because we are in a mental health crisis, and it is what our neighbors need.”