“For months now my colleagues and I have been working to repair our state’s broken mental health system. A system that failed Joel Reuter, Rick Garcia, Sheena & Chris Henderson, and so many others.
We need a healthcare system that cares for everyone, regardless of whether they have diabetes or depression. And this is a budget begins to build that system for the families of Washington.
House Democrats invest $100 million in mental health care across our entire state. We’ve funded community based outpatient treatment, more inpatient beds, better crisis prevention, and training of more mental health providers.
This budget provides better care across the entire spectrum. With it we can prevent more people who are dealing with mental health issues from going into crisis; and, we can give our medical professionals and law enforcement better tools and training to deal with mental health crises when they do happen.
This budget makes one of the largest investments in mental health in our state’s history. It fulfills our constitutional and moral obligations to the people of Washington. And, it is a significant building block on which we can continue to improve.”