(WAND) – On Tuesday, the Trump Administration cut funding to several critical programs. Just when Illinois substance abuse and mental health programs thought they lost nearly $6 million in funding, the Trump Administration changed its mind. For many organizations, the funding scare showed how uncertain federal funding is.
“We knew that the impact would be widespread and devastating. If these cuts were to go through. without this funding, these programs really couldn’t continue,” said Angela Cummings, executive director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Illinois service providers were alerted that funding had been cut for five behavioral health and suicide prevention programs. These funds not only provide critical services for communities, but they also provide hundreds of jobs.
“These grants are really hitting the mark in getting scientifically proven suicide prevention research into the spaces where they really need to be and then therefore educating people and saving lives,” Cummings said.
Sudden funding cuts could also interrupt the care patients are receiving. Cummings said interrupting care threatens the livelihood of some patients.
“We don’t want a lapse in someone’s mental health care, because that lapse could lead to, again, an increase in those risk factors, that could lead to a suicidal crisis moment and potentially a loss of life,” Cummings said.
Organizations urge people to continue reaching out to their local legislators to fight for funding for all health care.
“We need to act quickly if we feel like this type of care is threatened, because, again, we don’t want people to go without their services because it can result in a very negative outcome,” Cummings said.
The Trump Administration has not disclosed why the funding was initially cut.
